Enforced disappearances: Opposition to table resolution in National Assembly

Opposition calls on the government to ensure prevalence of law and regulate role of security, intelligence agencies.

Opposition leader in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has said that a resolution on the burning issue of enforced disappearances will be tabled in the next session of the lower house of Parliament.

“The house calls upon the government to ensure prevalence of the rule of law and to implement, without further delay, the directions of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and recommendations of the commission on inquiry of enforced disappearances, commission of inquiry concerning the murder of Syed Saleem Shahzad, for enactment of necessary legislation to resolve the problem of missing persons,” Nisar said as he read out a paragraph of the resolution at a press conference in Islamabad on Wednesday.

The resolution also called on the government to “regulate the role and functioning of the intelligence and security agencies.”

Nisar, a senior leader of key opposition party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, blamed the incumbent Pakistan Peoples Party government for the situation which he said was worse than it was during former dictator Pervez Musharraf’s tenure. “The democratic government has done nothing about the issue in the past four years.”

He added that there was no need to bring a new law as a law already exists and the government needs to ensure its implementation.