Enforced disappearances remain a taint on Pakistan's human rights record: Report

Pakistan mocks the United Nations concern over enforced disappearances, which continues to be practised with impunity in the country, according to a Canada-based think tank, which says that these practices remain a taint on Islamabad's human rights record.

In its report, International Forum for Rights and Security (IFFRAS) said that the rising media scrutiny, protests by human rights workers and interventions by the judiciary have not been able to shake the conscience of Pakistan's government and its deep state-on the issue of the enforced disappearance.

The misfortune which was thrust upon the innocent youth from restive areas, majorly from Balochistan during the regime of General Pervez Musharraf has only grown over the years.

During its 125th session in September 2021, the Working Group on Forced and Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) under the UN raised concerns on the pitiable state of Pakistan's handling of the issue.

The group followed it with a detailed report in December while seeking Pakistan's response on some of the cases in its notice. Pakistan's official response on this report is full of the State's apathy and utter disregard to the UN agency, according to the think tank.

Referring to many disappearances as old as 7-8 years, Pakistan simply states that the cases are under investigation.

"In others, which it claims to have resolved, it stops short of naming any culprits. The official stance in such cases is that since the abducted person has returned; there is no further need of any inquiry. In many cases, the time taken by such returnees extends to several years.

Going by Pakistan's reply in these highlighted cases, the affected families in obscure and unreported cases cannot have any hope of seeing their missing ones again," the think tank said.

It further said that to avoid the unwanted gaze of international watchdogs, the Pakistan government is also working towards bringing down the number of complaints.

In recent years, prominent human rights groups including Amnesty International have also been appealing to the Pakistani authorities to end the use of this inhuman practice as a policy tool.

In November 2021, Amnesty International released a new briefing documenting the effect of such abductions on the families of those who go missing.

The briefing, titled "Living Ghosts", is based on interviews with 10 family members of persons "whose fate remains unknown after they were abducted by Pakistan's security services". Pakistan's government and Army, however, do not appear inclined to lose their effective tool for stifling the voice of discriminated youth. (ANI)