Pick, kill and dump: Law ministry constitutes committee to resolve issue

Balochistan chief secretary will give briefing on Friday regarding missing persons.

ISLAMABAD:

Law Minister Farooq H Naek has constituted a committee to resolve the contentious issue of enforced disappearances in Balochistan — where hundreds of people have gone missing in past four years in pick, kill and dump incidences.

Balochistan Chief Secretary Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad will head the committee which will give its detailed briefing to the Ministry of Law and Justice on Friday. Babar will also update the committee on the response received from disgruntled Baloch leaders who were invited by the government to kick off negotiations to address their concerns.

“We will formally hold an important meeting on Friday (July 6) to discuss all issues i.e. dialogue with Baloch leaders and missing persons,” a senior official told The Express Tribune.

Balochistan Chief Minister Nawaz Aslam Raisani will give his point of view on how to resolve the chronic issue. Meanwhile, Raisani has assured Law Minister Naek his full cooperation in formulating laws to keep a check on the federal agencies allegedly involved in these abductions.

On Monday, Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf had directed Naek to hold an exclusive meeting to discuss the legal implications of dealing with the issue of missing persons. The government decided to take this issue at an “emergency basis” when incidents of pick, kill and dump were on the increase in Balochistan — with over 203 bullet-riddled bodies surfacing from various parts of Balochistan in 2011 as compared to the 103 that were found a year before.

“Supreme Court’s orders on missing persons in Balochistan must be implemented in true letter and spirit,” stated an official release quoting Naek who presided Tuesday’s meeting.

The apex court has already directed all enforcement agencies to present before the court all missing persons. On Tuesday, Raisani also informed the participants that they “are working on amending laws to define the role of the Frontier Constabulary (FC), Levies and police in the province”.

Balochistan’s chief secretary also gave his output on the issue while secretaries of defence, interior and law, provincial inspector general FC, IG Police, advocate general and other high-ranking officials of the concerned ministries were present. Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Aftab Sultan, FC IG Maj Gen Obaidullah Khan and Balochistan Police IG Tariq Umar Khitab also will give their input.

Later Naek also briefed the prime minister about Tuesday’s meeting, assuring him that all concerned officials have been directed to follow the issued instructions and guidelines to ensure the compliance of the directions of the apex court.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4^th, 2012.