Lack of cooperation

The complaint by the Supreme Court (SC) about the lack of cooperation from agencies, including the Frontier Corps (FC) in Balochistan, in recovering missing persons is disturbing. Hearing the missing persons case at its Quetta Registry, the chief justice said that solid evidence was found against the FC and other security institutions in this case. The three-member bench of the apex Court hearing the case was critical of both the security forces and the interior ministry for failing to address the problem or do enough about it. The Court, of course, is right. The matter of missing persons has caused a great deal of agony to the families of the hundreds whisked away at various points in time. The Court is also correct when it says that though it understands FC personnel are being killed, this should be no reason to illegally detain persons.

The stance taken by the SC is welcome. We need someone to speak up for missing persons. The problem is one that has remained with us for too long. We need more action from higher authorities. As the judges pointed out, the interior ministry has done little more than to release reports or make promises. The SC bench observed the present government’s efforts in this regard were worse than that of the previous set-up. The stories told by relatives of missing persons before the Court once more highlights their plight. The authorities need to show a commitment to the cause of ending illegal detentions, ensuring those guilty of violating the law are punished only after following the due legal procedure and taking steps to ensure those held by agencies are returned home. This can only happen if there is cooperation with the Court and all institutions work together to resolve them. The problem, as it stands, has been duly pointed out by the SC. Indeed, it has been pointed out many times before. It is now the duty of the government to act on what we know and compel all security agencies to comply with Court orders under all circumstances.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28^th, 2013.

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