Pakistan Ministry forms missing person commission

Balochistan [Pakistan], January 2 (ANI): Amid the protest for the recovery of missing Baloch people, the Pakistan Home ministry formed the commission to investigate the cases of missing people, ARY News reported.

In order to follow the orders of the Balochistan High Court (BHC), the Pakistan home ministry formed the high-powered missing person commission headed by Balochistan’s Home Minister Ziaullah Langau. The statement issued by the court stated the commission is responsible to support the families of missing persons besides devising a legal procedure for their recovery.

The missing person commission received a total number of 9,133 complaints from the residents of Balochistan, according to ARY News.

During the last month of November 101 more cases were received by the Missing Person Commission and the total number of cases reached 9,133.

Meanwhile, ‘Haq Do Tehreek’ (Gwadar Rights Movement) protest movement entered the second month on December 25 and it’s getting bigger amid rising tension between the Pakistan Government and the demonstrators, reported Asian Lite International.

The HDT protesters have blocked the Gwadar East-Bay Expressway, the main artery of the Gwadar region, and the under-construction Gwadar International Airport, as part of the ongoing stir.

Earlier in June, International Forum for Rights and Security (IFFRAS) reported that enforced disappearances are used as a tool by Pakistani authorities to terrorize people who question the all-powerful army establishment of the country or seek individual or social rights.

The report suggests that it is a crime often used by the authorities to get rid of people that are considered a “nuisance” without any arrest warrant, charge or prosecution.

The forceful abductions have been carried out in Balochistan since the early 2000s. Students are often the most targeted section of these abductions. The victims also include several political activists, journalists, teachers, doctors, poets, and lawyers.
The report added that tens of thousands of Baloch people have been kidnapped by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Pakistani Army personnel in the last 20 years.

Several victims have been killed and dumped and it is believed that many of them are still confined in Pakistani torture cells.

A majority of the students are kept in extra-judicial custody after they are picked up during raids on houses and hostels.

Several protests are being carried out frequently in Balochistan to bring the practice into light. The family members of the forcibly disappeared persons have formed an organisation called the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) to campaign against the disappearances.

A hunger strike that has continued for over 4,670 days was carried out by VBMP. The organization has claimed that the Pakistani authorities have been involved in this practice.