EVEN a perceived threat to civil rights and freedom of expression undermines democracy; it impedes the enforcement of laws and creates a trust deficit between the state and the people. Therefore, the arbitrary detention of HRCP chairman Asad Iqbal Butt by the police, apparently to keep him from participating in a protest against enforced disappearances, is being viewed as a bid to intimidate rights champions and regulate free speech. The truth is that the sanctity of rights bodies, such as the HRCP—– practically the only independent voice for the powerless — should be inviolable in a civilised environment.

The unfortunate incident shows that the state machinery needs a reminder: demonstrations and social justice movements strengthen democracy and institutions and ensure balance of power. Nothing can change the fact that citizens continue to disappear, without the option of due process. The criminal practice is an attack on constitutional freedoms — reason enough for political forces to agitate for the recovery of absent citizenry and its right to legal recourse. Only in an authoritarian state is the agony of families in search of loved ones overlooked, and Baloch youth are forced to live under the threat of being disappeared from educational facilities, homes and public spaces. The role of the judicial system has been disappointing: what prevents it from prosecuting those responsible for enforced disappearances? The fight for the ‘lost’ people of Pakistan is a battle for the country’s soul; it is losing generations to radicalisation engendered by conflict and stolen liberties. Every citizen deserves safety within the legal system and access to justice. Thus, it is high time collective trauma and disappearances came to a halt. The wrongdoers, irrespective of clout and rank, must be held accountable, while each missing person must be produced in a court of law. Besides, Balochistan’s discontent, and its people’s struggle for the missing, demands humane acknowledgement and remedy from the state.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2024