The International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances was observed on Aug 30, while family members of “missing persons” continue to pass through miserable times approaching different forums in search of their missing relatives.

As international experts lay emphasis on carrying out search for people who have been subject to enforced disappearances, Pakistan has yet to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances.

To mark the day, a joint statement of UN human rights experts was issued by the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. The statement emphasised that States around the world must act urgently to search for people who had been subject to enforced disappearances, and ensure that this heinous crime was properly investigated.

The Chair of the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances, Suela Janina, emphasised: “The search for those who have disappeared is a right of the victims and an obligation of States, and should be carried out in good faith and in diligent and effective manner.”

Similarly, the Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group, Bernard Duhaime, said: “All States should introduce an autonomous crime of enforced disappearance. The lack of such an offence in the criminal legislation creates a situation whereby enforced disappearances are often investigated and prosecuted under other crimes. This is highly problematic in terms of the specific investigation required from the outset in these cases as it may result in delays and inefficiencies in the investigation.”

In Pakistan, no exclusive law has been introduced so far to check this phenomenon of enforced disappearances. While FIRs have been registered in large number of cases in different police stations across the country, the concerned police failed in tracing the relevant “missing person” as apparently state agencies are allegedly involved in such offences.

How the entire criminal justice system fails in such cases is evident from the plight of scores of people who have been searching for their missing relatives. Several of these persons had gone missing for around a decade, but could not be traced so far.

“I have tried all available options to trace my son Noor Said who has been missing since 2009, and has approached different forums, but in vain,” said Khan Said, belonging to Hangu district. He said that his son was a rickshaw driver and according to information gathered by him, he was taken into custody by law enforcing agencies near Haji Camp, Peshawar.

He said that his younger grandson was now around 10 and he had constantly been lying to him that his father had gone abroad and had been earning money for them. The alleged detainee is having three children.

Initially, a habeas corpus petition was filed in the Peshawar High Court by Noor Said’s wife Shakia, which was disposed of in 2012 with the direction to the concerned Paharipura police station to register an FIR of kidnapping and wrongful confinement in the case. While the FIR was registered no noteworthy investigation took place as family suspected involvement of security agencies in the issue.

Khan Said says that some former missing persons had informed him about presence of his missing son in some internment centres with them. However, the government agencies have been denying this claim. He has also filed an application before the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances (CIED), which has also been conducting regular hearing in the case but so far no clue to Noor Said could be found.

Looking at the history of such cases, it is an uphill task for the judiciary as well as the CIED to trace scores of these “missing persons” whose exact number is even not known. In most of the cases the security agencies are not coming up with the required information. Cases continue to linger on for weeks, months and years without any noteworthy progress.

According to the data of CIED, around 5,213 cases have been filed with the commission since its inception in March 2011 till June 2018, of which 3,398 cases were disposed of and presently 1,815 cases are pending. The commission claims that 2,583 missing persons were traced in these cases.

During military operations in different conflict zones, including Malakand, South Waziristan, Orakzai and Khyber, the security forces had detained hundreds of suspects who remained in illegal detentions for many years. Finally, the President of Pakistan had promulgated two almost identical regulations – Action (in aid of civil power) Regulation 2011 for Fata and Pata – on June 23, 2011. These regulations were given effect from Feb 1, 2008, so as to legalise the illegal detentions of suspects.

Later, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa home secretary issued a notification on July 20, 2011, through which nine detention centres were declared as notified internment centres in the province. These centers include: sub-jail Paitham (Pak-Austrian Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management), Swat; sub-jail Fiza Gut, Swat; sub-jail at Malakand; district jails Lakki Marwat, Kohat and Timergara; and Frontier Corps Forts at Drosh (Chitral), Chakdara and Timergara.

Another notification was issued by the additional chief secretary, Fata, on Aug 12 under which around 34 internment centres were notified. Through that notification all the forts of Frontier Corps and political lock-ups in the seven tribal agencies were declared internment centres.

Legal experts dealing with cases of “missing persons” say that after promulgation of the two regulations it was believed that the issue of enforced disappearances would be resolved as these missing persons would be shifted to internment centres. However, they say that the issue continues to linger on as the concerned quarters had not fully implemented those laws.

They believe that an exclusive law should be introduced by the PTI-led government so that the persons involved in such illegal acts should realise seriousness of the issue. Moreover, they believe that such detainees should be shifted to internment centres or prisons so that they should be treated in accordance with law.

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2018