Report reveals only one-third of 8,500 missing people have returned home in Pakistan
Islamabad: A report submitted by the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in Pakistan on Friday revealed that out of the 8,463 citizens missing since March 2011, only 3,284 have returned home, media reports said.
The report was submitted by the commission’s registrar in a case filed by the heirs of missing persons, reports The Dawn.
The commission — set up in 2011 to trace the missing persons and fix responsibility on the individuals or organisations responsible — disclosed that the institutions concerned did not produce detainees in 550 cases despite the issuance of production orders, the Pak newspaper reported.
During the nearly eleven years from March 2011 to Feb 28, 2022, the commission received 8,463 complaints about enforced disappearances, the report said. Of these cases, it has disposed of 6,214 cases, whereas 2,249 are still under investigation, the newspaper reported further.
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah remarked as quoted by Dawn News that initial evidence suggested the commission had failed to perform its responsibility since the report indicated that it was assuming the role of a mere post office.
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