Foreign intelligence agencies behind Balochistan situation: Justice Javed Iqbal
Head of judicial commission on missing persons says foreign agencies want to destabilise Pakistan.
QUETTA:
Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, head of judicial commission formed for the recovery of missing persons, on Saturday held foreign intelligence agencies responsible for the deteriorating situation of Balochistan, claiming that there was concrete evidence against them.
Addressing a news conference at the Civil Secretariat in Quetta, Justice Iqbal said that foreign intelligence agencies wanted to deteriorate the situation of Balochistan in order to destabilise Pakistan.
Justice Iqbal further regretted that the authorities have not been able to compile the complete details of those who were enlisted as missing persons. “There is a baseless propaganda about the actual figure of missing persons in the country.”
However, he said that according to the commission, the total number of missing persons stood at 460, including 18 from Islamabad, 117 from Punjab, 174 from Sindh, 170 from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and 57 from Balochistan while 12 each from Azad Kashmir and Federally Administered Areas (FATA).
He said that 42 bodies of missing persons were found in Balochistan, and claimed that foreign intelligence agencies were involved in the crime.
It is pertinent to mention here that Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VFBMP), an organisation striving for the safe recovery of missing persons in Balochistan, has already boycotted the proceedings of the commission and has categorically stated that the commission is not in the mood of recovering the missing people.
The inquiry commission’s chief further said that the list also contained the names of those living abroad and also those who have been involved in terrorism-related cases.
Iqbal said that the chief minister of Balochistan had sent a list of 945 ‘missing’ persons to the commission, and added that the complete details of even 45 persons on the list had not been made available.
“We sent the list back to the ministry for correction but it never came back,” he pointed out.
The commission’s chief said that in the past week, 12 people who had been missing were recovered from Balochistan. He claimed that some of the missing persons were in Afghanistan and they could not be recovered because they were in US-controlled territory.
Responding to a query about the delay in proceedings, Justice Iqbal explained that he was engaged in the Abbottabad commission. “We have been doing our job in Islamabad. We will soon visit interior Balochistan including like Gwadar, Turbat and Khuzdar. The people who are on the list cannot be declared as missing persons until or unless their relatives turn up and show their identity cards or driving license.”
He added that the commission is still facing difficulties because the government organisations and other organisations who are working for missing persons did not give the exit list. However, he said that the federal and provincial governments and secret agencies are cooperating with the judicial commission.
Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, head of judicial commission formed for the recovery of missing persons, on Saturday held foreign intelligence agencies responsible for the deteriorating situation of Balochistan, claiming that there was concrete evidence against them.
Addressing a news conference at the Civil Secretariat in Quetta, Justice Iqbal said that foreign intelligence agencies wanted to deteriorate the situation of Balochistan in order to destabilise Pakistan.
Justice Iqbal further regretted that the authorities have not been able to compile the complete details of those who were enlisted as missing persons. “There is a baseless propaganda about the actual figure of missing persons in the country.”
However, he said that according to the commission, the total number of missing persons stood at 460, including 18 from Islamabad, 117 from Punjab, 174 from Sindh, 170 from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and 57 from Balochistan while 12 each from Azad Kashmir and Federally Administered Areas (FATA).
He said that 42 bodies of missing persons were found in Balochistan, and claimed that foreign intelligence agencies were involved in the crime.
It is pertinent to mention here that Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VFBMP), an organisation striving for the safe recovery of missing persons in Balochistan, has already boycotted the proceedings of the commission and has categorically stated that the commission is not in the mood of recovering the missing people.
The inquiry commission’s chief further said that the list also contained the names of those living abroad and also those who have been involved in terrorism-related cases.
Iqbal said that the chief minister of Balochistan had sent a list of 945 ‘missing’ persons to the commission, and added that the complete details of even 45 persons on the list had not been made available.
“We sent the list back to the ministry for correction but it never came back,” he pointed out.
The commission’s chief said that in the past week, 12 people who had been missing were recovered from Balochistan. He claimed that some of the missing persons were in Afghanistan and they could not be recovered because they were in US-controlled territory.
Responding to a query about the delay in proceedings, Justice Iqbal explained that he was engaged in the Abbottabad commission. “We have been doing our job in Islamabad. We will soon visit interior Balochistan including like Gwadar, Turbat and Khuzdar. The people who are on the list cannot be declared as missing persons until or unless their relatives turn up and show their identity cards or driving license.”
He added that the commission is still facing difficulties because the government organisations and other organisations who are working for missing persons did not give the exit list. However, he said that the federal and provincial governments and secret agencies are cooperating with the judicial commission.