Victims, families share their ordeal

IA Rehman, Asma Jahangir and Senator Jahanzeb Jamaldini speak at event

ISLAMABAD: Syed Qamar Ali Shah, a white bearded resident of Swat, still remembers December 19, 2009, when he called his son back from university and handed him over to a captain of the 68 Baloch Regiment to clear him of ‘terrorism charges.’ The old man was assured his son would return home in two-three days. Shah was sure his son was innocent and did not hesitate in handing him over. It has been six years since he has heard from his son.

Hidayatullah, a resident of Dir, has been waiting since 2012 for his son-in-law to return, and has no clue where his daughter’s husband is since his arrest.



Muhammad Arif’s elder brother, a resident of Khyber Agency, also went missing. When he was finally produced before a court, he was taken once again from the gates of the courthouse.

“Under what law do agencies operate? Parliament should be forced to disclose this law, and if there is no law, they should formulate one,” said renowned lawyer and human right activist, Asma Jahangir.

She was speaking at an event hosted by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) at a local hotel on Sunday. She was accompanied by HRCP Secretary General IA Rehman, BNP Senator Dr Jahanzeb Jamaldini, and several families of the victims of enforced disappearances who shared their views.

The event marked the ‘International Day of the Victims of Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances’.

Defence of Human Rights Pakistan Chairperson Amina Masood Janjua’s struggle against the enforced disappearance of her husband has continued for 10 years now. She feels that the issue is beyond the control of the country’s top court, adding that “enforced disappearances need a political solution.”

Several nationalist party members from Sindh have also gone missing.

Victims of enforced disappearances are not from one particular province, but from all over the country. Officially, the fate of 1,270 people is still unknown. They are counted as ‘missing persons’.

Families said they should be informed about their loved ones; what the justifications for their arrests were, and demanded they be produced before a court of law.

The event’s discussions showed that people stopped going to courts when mutilated bodies of their loved ones started appearing in 2010; in some cases, victims’ identities were concealed by throwing acid on their faces; others were threatened into silence.

“Parliament, courts, media and civil society all are in fear,” Jahangir said, adding that it was the worst time for civil society.

Jahangir criticised the performance of both the inquiry commission on enforced disappearances as well as the apex court.

Senator Jamaldini lamented that some of his fellow senators were often surprised and asked “does it still happen?”



People have been forced to mourn the deaths of their loved ones for years, said a woman from the Hazara community. Imdad Chandio from Sindh said the issue began as a ‘tragedy’, but was now ‘a routine matter.’ Tahir Hussain from Balochistan said the issue was creating hatred among people.

IA Rehman said that situation had become grave, especially in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, following the Swat operation.

Several videos of victims of enforced kidnappings were also shown at the event.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 31st, 2015.