WHILE relatives of ‘missing’ people from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Fata and Balochistan soldier on in the quest for their loved ones, the earth continues to throw up grisly evidence of some of the disappeared in the latter province. Since Sunday, four decomposed bodies have been found in the same area of Totak where 13 corpses, some partially buried, were discovered in late January.

A judicial commission appointed by the Supreme Court has been investigating the matter.

Redressal for the families of the missing also suffered a setback in court on Monday when a witness in the case of Masood Janjua from Rawalpindi was not allowed to testify via video link from a UNHCR camp in Sri Lanka.

The apex court has consistently pursued the issue of enforced disappearances since 2006, and its tenacity has resulted in a number of such individuals belonging to KP and Fata being produced before it, thereby bringing some relief to their families.

By summoning senior military officials to answer questions from the bench, the court has underscored the principle that no individual or institution is, or at least should be, above the law.

The government’s recent step of seeking the trial of two military officers for their alleged role in the disappearance of the Baloch — though unlikely to address the issue in any meaningful way as the officers are scarcely senior enough to have taken such action without orders from above — can also perhaps be interpreted as taking its cue from the Supreme Court’s proactive approach.

The problem of enforced disappearances has particularly bedevilled efforts by the Balochistan government to establish its writ in the province.

Needless to say, the security establishment, accustomed to acting with impunity in furtherance of its definition of the ‘national interest’, has not given up its secrets easily.

It has only partially complied with court orders to produce the detainees, that too after much prevarication and empty assurances. Still, the court must continue to maintain pressure until each and every forcibly disappeared person is accounted for.

As citizens of Pakistan, whatever their ideological affiliation, such individuals deserve nothing less.

Even in the case of Masood Janjua, who it is claimed was killed by ‘non-state actors’, the court must demand further investigation so that the truth behind his disappearance can be established. Other organs of the state should step up and play a responsible role at this critical juncture.

Confronted with overwhelming evidence of its culpability in enforced disappearances, it is time the military undertook a clear-sighted appraisal of its tactics, and held senior officials accountable for human rights violations instead of offering up junior personnel as scapegoats.

At the same time, parliament needs to craft legislation that allows the war against terrorism to be conducted and prosecuted effectively without sacrificing the principles that underpin the claim to being a democracy.