On top court's order, commission submits 'revealing' report on missing persons

• KP reports 3,485 cases of missing persons, reveals commission.
• In Balochistan, 2,752 cases of enforced disappearance lodged. 
• Flying abroad without telling families is also a reason behind cases.   

ISLAMABAD: In compliance with the Supreme Court’s order, the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances on Tuesday handed over its “comprehensive report” on missing persons to the attorney general.

Last week, the top court sought a report from the commission along with details about orders issued to law enforcement agencies (LEAs) for the production of missing persons. The apex court had also asked the federal government to give in writing that there would be no more enforced disappearances in the country.

The development came as a three-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musarrat Hilali, heard the petitions of Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan and others on the unlawful practice of enforced disappearances, praying for declaring it as violative of various articles of the Constitution.

In its report, the inquiry commission said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported 3,485 cases of missing persons, making it the highest number in the country. Causalities in drone attacks and the spike in militancy were the key reasons behind the disappearances, read the report.

In Balochistan, 2,752 cases related to enforced disappearance were lodged, the commission said, adding that besides other reasons, fleeing abroad without informing their families, due to the prevailing situation in the province, was among the causes of these cases.

"In exercise of the aforementioned powers, the commission has issued 744 production orders out of which 52 have been implemented by the addresses, while the remaining 692 production orders are yet to the executed by the quarters concerned.”

The commission also received 182 petitions from the quarters concerned requesting for review of the production orders in these cases, the report added.