Pakistan: 6237 persons reported missing, 261 dead bodies found during last 12 years

Supreme Court of Pakistan

By Nasir Aijaz
The AsiaN Representative

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances has revealed in a report that 6237 cases of missing persons were reported from two provinces – Balochistan and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while the dead bodies of 261 missing persons were found during the last 12 years.

In compliance with the Supreme Court’s order, the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances handed over its comprehensive report on missing persons to the Attorney General.

The Supreme Court, on January 3, 2024, had directed the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances to submit a “comprehensive report” on missing persons, along with the details of all production orders issued.

The commission, headed by Justice Javed Iqbal, was established in 2011 to trace missing persons and fix responsibility on the individuals or organizations responsible for it.

Baloch women, men stage sit-in in Islamabad

The apex court had also asked the federal government to give in writing that there would be no more enforced disappearances in the country.

The orders were passed as a three-member bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musarrat Hilali heard a set of pleas. Among the petitioners was Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan who highlighted how the unlawful practice of enf­orced disappearances continued unabated, haunting generations upon generations.

In its report, the inquiry commission said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported 3,485 cases of missing persons, making it the highest number in the country. The casualties in drone attacks and the spike in militancy were the key reasons behind the disappearances, read the report.

In Balochistan, 2,752 cases related to enforced disappearance were lodged, the commission said, adding that besides other reasons, fleeing abroad without informing their families, due to the prevailing situation in the province, was among the causes of these cases.

The Commission, in its report, further stated that 4413 missing persons returned to their homes during the period from March 2011 to December 2023, while 994 missing persons were in the custody of law enforcing agencies and 644 persons were in the prisons.

According to the report of the Commission, 261 dead bodies of the missing persons were found during the last 12 years from March 2011 to December 2023.

Baloch women and children protest in Islamabad

“In exercise of the aforementioned powers, the commission issued 744 production orders out of which 52 have been implemented by the addresses, while the remaining 692 production orders are yet to be executed by the quarters concerned.”

The commission also received 182 petitions from the quarters concerned requesting for review of the production orders in these cases, the report added.

It may be mentioned that the parents of missing persons, social and political activists, including a large number of women and children, from restive province of Balochistan recently marched to Islamabad where they have staged sit-in to exert pressure on the government for releasing the missing persons. The protestors, however, were baton-charged by the Islamabad police, instead of resolving the issue.