Tag: Baloch missing persons

  • Issue of missing person can’t be solved overnight, says law minister

    Issue of missing person can’t be solved overnight, says law minister

    Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said on Tuesday, in a press conference in Islamabad, that missing persons were involved in the Gwadar attack. He highlighted the struggle of the government to resolve the issue, but also emphasised that the problem can’t be resolved overnight.

    He also said that the issue of missing persons in Pakistan is closely linked with terrorism.

    Tarar disclosed that the Supreme Court (SC) has taken notice of the problem and has sent over 10,000 cases to the commission responsible for investigating missing persons. He said they’ve successfully resolved approximately 8,000 of these cases.

    During the press conference, he stressed that the government is aware of its responsibility on the issue and is making efforts to resolve it. He also stated that earlier in 2022, the coalition government formed a committee to handle the issue.

    Under the directive of the Prime Minister, efforts to address missing persons cases have been reignited, he added.

  • State won’t accept ‘elements’ supporting terrorists in Balochistan, says PM Kakar

    State won’t accept ‘elements’ supporting terrorists in Balochistan, says PM Kakar

    Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar criticised “elements” who are backing terrorists and militants in the name of supporting Baloch protesters demanding the release of all missing persons.
    The prime minister’s statement came during a press conference in Lahore as the Baloch families of missing persons protested against “enforced disappearance” and “extrajudicial killing” in Islamabad.

    PM Kakar said that the state would not tolerate elements who are supporting militants and terrorists involved in the killing of individuals from Balochistan, including teachers, doctors, and lawyers.

    The Prime Minister also criticised the media for portraying the Baloch families protest in an inaccurate way, but in reality, he said, Baloch stood with Pakistan.

    The premier said that there was no restriction on freedom of expression and that every citizen has the right to protest within constitutional limits. “The families have the right to protest for their beloved ones, but others are just launching baseless criticism.”

    However, he also said that the state won’t allow those elements who want to support militants and terrorists in the country.
    “Those who want to support them [armed militants] should join the camp of the militant outfits who termed terrorism as a movement,” he added.
    Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar also said that the Indian spy agency, Research and Analysis Wing (Raw), is funding terrorists in Balochistan.

    On the other hand, Baloch activist Mahrang Baloch tweeted on X (previously Twitter) in response to Kakar’s press conference: “From the inception of our movement, our demands have been clear: an end to all forms of human rights violations in Balochistan and the cessation of the Baloch genocide. We’ve presented these demands to the state through the media. Our stance has remained clear from the beginning – we seek negotiations with the state regarding these demands. Sadly, the world witnesses the continuous irresponsibility and stubbornness of the state, where peaceful protestors endure torture and arrests, and media trials are conducted against this peaceful movement. Today, the Prime Minister of Pakistan declared victims of enforced disappearances as terrorists, insulting victim families and addressing peaceful political activists in a threatening tone. However, we assert to this state and government that we will persist in informing the world about your oppression and barbarism.”

  • ‘Produce missing persons or appear before court’: IHC sends notice to Musharraf, IK, PM Shehbaz

    ‘Produce missing persons or appear before court’: IHC sends notice to Musharraf, IK, PM Shehbaz

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has directed the government to issue notices to former President General Pervez Musharraf, former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and the current PM Shehbaz Sharif for following an “undeclared tacit approval of the policy regarding enforced disappearances.”

    The court directed that the federal government shall produce the missing persons before the court on June 17 or justify the failure of the state to effectively investigate.

    IHC Chief Justice (CJ) Justice Athar Minallah said, “Musharraf and all other successor chief executives [PM Shehbaz and Khan] shall submit their respective affidavits explaining why the court may not order proceedings against them for alleged subversion of the Constitution in the context of undeclared tacit approval of the policy regarding enforced disappearances and thus putting national security at risk by allowing the involvement of law enforcement agencies, particularly the armed forces.”

    The court also noted that the involvement or even a perception of the involvement of the armed forces in acts “amounting to a violation of human rights and freedom of the citizens weakens and undermines the rule of law.”

    On Sunday, the high court issued a 15-page order in a case related to the disappearance of journalist Mudassar Mahmood Naro and five other people after their petitions were in their final phases, but the federal government requested an “adjournment.”

    The court also noted the fact that how the Pakistani media ignores this form of abuse and that reporting on the matter is not a priority. Moreover, the court also expressed dissatisfaction over the role of parliament in regard to the disappearances. It said that “they are the most important and crucial organs of the state but nothing has been placed on record to indicate that they may have adopted a proactive role to fulfill their Constitutional obligations.”

    Journalist Mudassar has been missing since 2018 from Khyber Pakhtunkhua.

  • Baloch families end Islamabad sit-in after PM Imran’s pledge to meet them

    Baloch families end Islamabad sit-in after PM Imran’s pledge to meet them

    Protesters calling for an end to enforced disappearances in Balochistan ended a week-long sit-in in the capital on Monday, after an assurance that Prime Minister Imran Khan will meet them next month.

    “We don’t have any big hopes from this government, but the way they have reassured us, we also have decided to give them a chance,” Sammi Baloch, who has been searching for her father Deen Muhammad since 2009, told Reuters.

    She and other families have protested across the country for years to little avail.

    The Islamabad protesters — 10 families of missing men and around a hundred supporters — said they will return if assurances are not met.

    Security officials say many of Balochistan’s so-called disappeared have links to separatists. But actual court punishments have been rare.

    The Pakistan Army and human rights ministry did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment for this story, including questions about specific family members sought by the protesters.

    For one week, protesters held up photos of missing relatives under the watchful eyes of police surrounding them.

    Among them was 60-year-old Baz Khatoon, who clutched a stack of news reports and court filings about her son, Rashid Hussain Brohi. She believes he was detained in Dubai in December 2018, was flown to Pakistan six months later, and then vanished without a trace.

    Khatoon said her son moved to Dubai to be safe in 2017 after three male relatives, including his father, had turned up dead after being taken away by security forces over the years.

    After Brohi was detained, Amnesty International and UN bodies looking into disappearances called on the Emirati authorities not to deport him to Pakistan for fear he would be killed.

    Brohi’s mother has obtained a copy of an Emirati travel document showing Brohi’s Emirati visa was cancelled in June 2019, and that he left two days later on a flight to a small airport in Balochistan. The UAE government media office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

    Local news channels reported that he was brought back to Pakistan and charged with sending funds to gunmen responsible for a 2018 attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi. But Khatoon said she has been given no official explanation of his whereabouts.

    “Just tell us our kids are safe, put them in jail, we don’t have any problem with that,” Khatoon said.

    “If they were in jail at least we would know they are safe, at least I could take some food there for my son, or a blanket to keep him warm, or a change of clothes.”

  • PM to meet representative committee of missing persons in March: Mazari

    PM to meet representative committee of missing persons in March: Mazari

    Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari has said that Prime Minister Imran Khan would meet a three-member representative committee of the missing persons who have been staging a sit-in in Islamabad for more than a week.

    The families of the Baloch missing persons, who have been raising their voice for the recovery of their loved ones for decades, are staging a sit-in in the federal capital against the enforced disappearances.

    On Saturday, the human rights minister visited the protest camp and assured that their reservations will be relayed to the prime minister.

    “On instructions from the PM, Human Rights Minister Dr Shireen Mazari met with the missing persons’ families this afternoon,” said a statement shared by Mazari on her Twitter account.

    According to the statement, Mazari told them that the PM wanted them to “end their dharna”.

    “He [PM] would meet a three-member representative committee from amongst them in March and Dr Mazari would arrange this meeting,” the statement said, adding that the families have been asked to “hand over the list of their missing persons to Dr Mazari so that their status could be ascertained and conveyed to the PM before the meeting with the families’ representatives”.

    “The families requested that priority be given to the missing persons of the 13 families present at the dharna,” the statement added.

    Earlier this week, a meeting of the federal cabinet had expressed concern over the longstanding issue of missing persons and directed the authorities concerned to make prompt legislation in the parliament to ensure that there was no missing person in the present government.

    Earlier this week, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Vice President Maryam Nawaz visited the camp of the Baloch families. At the time, she urged the army chief and Inter-Services Intelligence chief to play their role to address the issue.

    She criticised the government for not reaching out to the protesters, saying that it was the duty of the state to take care of its citizens.

    A bill seeking criminalisation of enforced disappearances was proposed by the Human Rights Ministry in 2018. It was sent to the Ministry of Law, but the ministry has yet to clear the proposed legislation despite the passage of a considerable amount of time.