Re: Missing Persons
An update on “disappearences” happening in Pakistan
Karachi, 18 April 2006 : [Top] [Print]
Karachi: April 18, 2006: A terrifying new trend of disappearances has lately surfaced in Pakistan, adding a new dimension to the human rights abuses in the country. Over the past few months HRCP has continued to receive complaints of disappearances from affected families. It is believed that these individuals are picked up by law enforcing agencies (often in plain clothes). In most of the cases, the family members of ‘disappeared’ persons have no news of relatives picked up by law enforcement agencies for many months, or even years.
The most recent case reported to HRCP, took place on April 11, 2006. Mr. Nisar Hussain Baloch, a member of Shehri, Citizens for a Better Environment was called by SHO Pak Colony to meet him and since then he has disappeared. Efforts to locate him have not yielded any result. Other cases include:
Mr. Muneer Mengal, the Managing Director of Balochi television based in Bahrain and UAE was stopped by FIA at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi on April 04, 2006 and after that Mr. Mengal’s whereabouts remain unknown.
Dr. Naqib Ullah Durrani, Afghan national and an employee of Dutch Community Afghanistan came to Pakistan in February 2006 to attend a workshop at Sindh Agriculture University, Tando Jam, and was made to ‘disappear’ allegedly by some agency on March 13, 2006.
Dr. Haneef Shareef, the prominent poet and writer in Balochi language has been missing for over five months after being picked up by the military intelligence officers in Turbat, Balochistan on November 18, 2005. His whereabouts are not known to his family. Desperate to learn of Dr. Shareef’s whereabouts, his mother and relatives have staged a hunger strike in front of the Karachi Press Club for over 40 days.
Dr. Safdar Sarki (a US citizen), the current General Secretary of Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz and former Chairman of World Sindhi Congress was picked up and by some agency on February 24, 2006 from his flat in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Karachi.
HRCP demands that the federal and provincial governments must take steps to immediately ascertain the whereabouts of people reported to be missing, and to release them. If these persons are guilty of any crime, they should be charged and produced in court as per the due process of law. The Pakistani government must take measures to prevent such cases of disappearances.
Zohra Yusuf
Vice Chairperson