Peshawar resident missing for two years reunited with family

Ikramullah had been missing since October 2023 from Farooqiya madrassa in Tajabad area

A citizen of Peshawar missing since 2023 from a religious seminary has been recovered and reunited with his family, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Information Department said. According to a press release, the Inquiry Commission on Enforced Disappearances held hearings on 22 petitions in K-P.

Ikramullah, a citizen who had been missing since October 19, 2023, from Farooqiya madrassa in the Tajabad area was recovered through the commission’s efforts and presented before the court. He was subsequently handed over to his relatives.

The commission member for K-P stated that cases of enforced disappearances will be heard on a regular basis. He noted, this is an issue that has caused suffering to thousands of families for years. This is an important step towards justice, transparency, and accountability, the statement added.

Who are missing persons

According to Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearance (COIED), missing person means such person as has been picked up/taken into custody by any law enforcing/intelligence agency, working under the civilian or military control, in a manner which is contrary to the provisions of the law.

The persons, who have gone missing in cases of kidnapping for ransom, personal enmity or on their own, do not fall within the ambit of the enforced disappearances, the commission noted.

The commission has disposed of 103 cases of missing persons, while also registering 11 new cases, during the month of August 2025, as per its monthly report.

According to the commission’s data, COIED also disposed of 8,873 cases out of the total 10,618 cases received between March 2011 and August 2025. This works out to be 83.56% of the total cases.

The disposal of 8,873 cases includes 6,809 persons whose whereabouts have been traced by the commission. The remaining 1,745 cases are under investigation at Islamabad, Karachi, Quetta, and Lahore Registries of the Commission.

The commission has also successfully launched the conduct of hearings of missing persons's cases via video link, saving the time and expenses of stakeholders as well as families' travel to and from Islamabad.

Commission formed to hear missing persons cases in K-P

Last month, Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court, Justice SM Atiq Shah, had stated that the federal government constituted a commission to deal with cases of missing persons, and all such cases would be heard by it. Justice (retd) Afsar Shah has been officially notified as a member of the commission.

The remarks were made during the hearing of petitions seeking the recovery of missing persons. During the proceedings, lawyers for the petitioners, the Assistant Attorney General, the Additional Advocate General, and the focal person on missing persons appeared before the court.

At the outset, the CJ observed that the interior ministry had confirmed the activation of the commission and its mandate to hear cases involving agencies. The focal person also reiterated that all cases against agencies regarding enforced disappearances will now fall under the commission's jurisdiction.