Issue of missing activists can’t be dealt with in isolation: civil society

HRCP meeting decides to draft joint statement, policy on all missing persons

As civil society activists all across the country joined hands for the recovery of the five activists who went missing earlier this month, concerns have been raised as regards linking their disappearance with blasphemy.

On the heels of a case being registered against the missing bloggers under the blasphemy law, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) called a meeting on Monday to devise strategies to oppose linking the disappearances with blasphemy.

Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur chaired the meeting, which was attended by various activists who agreed on the need for a committee to look into the issue of disappearances, with many deciding that the matter could not be dealt with in isolation.

Moderating the meeting, HRCP Sindh chief Asad Butt pointed out that the blasphemy case filed in Islamabad’s I-9 police station against the bloggers was a predictable move because the authorities themselves had been pushing that idea.

He also referred to the case of octogenarian Ustad Rahimoon, who went missing from Sindh, saying that it showed that anyone could be made to disappear.

Regarding the writ of the state, columnist Dr Muqtada Mansoor said the legal process allowed up to 14 days in custody yet the federal bodies deemed it fit to allow a 90-day remand, adding that it was alarming that those involved in the arrests were not in uniform.

“What is even more frightening is that the blasphemy law is being linked to enforced disappearances, which will compromise the survival of the bloggers if they are released because we’ve seen in the past that even when the accused are acquitted by court, they are often killed in broad daylight.”

Prof Dr Riaz Ahmed said that while the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act had played a strong role in such matters, the state authorities were now trying to muzzle social media because their legitimacy was being challenged. “We need to begin by criminalising such abductions, because as far as social media are concerned people should keep raising their voice, because they fear those who think.”

Given that everyone agreed to raise the issue of missing persons, be it in Sindh or Balochistan, under one umbrella, Zahid Ali Bugti said that many were rounded up in Dera Bugti with food supply restricted in the area, to which Dr Ahmed said that it was crucial to deal with the disappearances collectively.

Asghar Dashti also recalled the arrests of Dr Zafar Arif and others who were taken away in handcuffs even when no charge was lodged against them.

On the data on missing persons, Abdul Hayyi said that most of the people were usually too frightened to even file a report with the HRCP. “They come to report and refuse to give their names and contact details and try to leave the premises hurriedly out of fear.”

Zahid Farooq of the Urban Resource Centre said it was pertinent to speak about the different aspects of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor because the authorities were unwilling to do so with regard to the evictions as the Karachi Circular Railway was recently added to the project.

Talpur later told The News: “The time has come when the gravity of the issue of disappearances is such that no one is being spared and the people are being picked from any place; no questions asked, no answers given. The issue has transcended age, geography, profession; it can be anyone and we are all at risk of being taken away; hence, it is necessary for everyone to resist this injustice because if we don’t speak up now, we would be next.”

The meeting concluded that a joint statement should be drafted alongside a policy statement regarding all the missing persons, irrespective of the pretext behind their disappearance.

A convening committee focusing solely on this – with Asad Butt, Dr Riaz Ahmed, Naghma Iqtidar, Reheema and Muneeza Ahmed as members – has been formed to look into the issue.

Another demonstration by the civil society to demand that all the missing persons be allowed to return home would be held on Thursday.