Commission of inquiry on enforced disappearances issues report

ISLAMABAD: The Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances has issued its progress report for the month of November, 2021 and according to the report, the Commission received 8,279 cases of alleged enforced disappearance from March 2011 to 30 November, 2021 from all over Pakistan.

Out of these cases, the Commission has disposed of 6,047 cases including 123 cases during November 2021. During November 2021, Chairman of the Commission Justice (R) Javed Iqbal presided over hearings at Lahore resulting in disposal of 07 cases pertaining to the Punjab.

Hearings at Head Office Islamabad and Sub-Office Karachi continued as usual. In addition to the regular comprehensive list of cases of missing persons, the Commission, some time back received a list of missing persons pertaining to Balochistan from Senator Dr Jehanzeb Jamaldini.

After thorough scrutiny, it was found that the majority of cases lack the informtion/particulars of the missing persons, which are essentially required to trace the whereabouts of a missing person. However, the Commission initiated calling reports from the stakeholders concerned in respect of the cases in which name/parentage, date of missing tehsil/area and district were indicated in the list.

In this connection deputy commissioners District Kech, Awaran and Panjgur responded and presented verification certificates to the Commission confirming return of certain missing persons to their homes. In this way, 748 missing persons have been reported as returned to home.

The cases of the missing persons pertaining to other districts of Balochistan have also been taken up by the Commission with the Home Department Balochistan and other quarters concerned. However, after initial notices, it was observed that presence of a Member of the Commission with Regional Office at Quetta is necessarily required to expedite tracing the whereabouts of the remaining missing persons.

Consequently, Regional Office of the Commission at Quetta has been set up which started functioning with effect from November 15, 2021 with Justice Fazl-ur-Rahman, Senior Member of the Commission as In-charge of the Regional Office, though his services were equally required at Headquarters Islamabad.

It is to note that 60 more missing persons have been traced during 15 days of November, 2021. Thus, 808 missing persons pertaining to “B” Area of Balochistan have been traced as returned to their homes.

Efforts are in hand to trace the whereabouts of the remaining missing persons. In the report received by the Commission after 125th session held from 20-29 September, 2021 through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad, WGEID informed that 13 cases on the list against Pakistan have been clarified on the basis of reports sent by the Commission.