Missing persons panel to hold more delibrations

HEC to issue guidelines on Baloch students, IHC told

ISLAMABAD:

A ministerial committee formed on the issue of enforced disappearance of Baloch students said in a report on Thursday that the Missing Persons Cell at the interior ministry would submit its report in the next committee meeting.

The federal government had formed a committee, comprising interior minister, defence minister and the law minister. The commission had recommended that the missing persons should be recovered and produced before the courts.

In a report to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in the case of implementation of the recommendations of the commission for the recovery of the missing Baloch students, the committee said that its first meeting was held on November 20 and that further steps would be taken after consultation.

According to the report, the National Security Division would take measures to implement the relevant provisions of the National Security Policy and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) would issue policy guidelines with the support of the provincial government.

Read more IHC demands return of 55 students

Under the HEC policy guidelines steps would be taken to prevent the passing of personal information about the Baloch students to other institutions. Besides, the report added that the HEC would provide friendly environment to all students, irrespective of provincial or regional basis.

The report was submitted a day after the IHC Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani ordered the government to recover 55 missing students from Balochistan within seven days, while hearing a petition filed by human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari.

The court has noted that if the order was not complied with, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar along with the caretaker ministers and secretaries for interior and defence would appear in the court in person on November 29.