Amnesty calls for resolving missing persons’ cases

ISLAMABAD: Human rights watchdog Amnesty International has called on Pakistan to resolve cases of enforced disappearances for which "no one has ever been held accountable".

"Disappearances are a tool of terror... if committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack, they constitute a crime against humanity," a statement issued by the rights watchdog Monday said.

Few punishments, Amnesty said, are "as cruel and deliberate.... Families are plunged into a state of anguish, trying to keep the flame of hope alive while fearing the worst. They may be in this limbo for years".

According to the NGO, Pakistan has recently accepted the UN recommendations that make enforced disappearances a crime but has refused to ratify an international convention protecting anyone from enforced disappearances.