MINGORA: Human rights activist Amina Masood Janjua on Wednesday said most missing persons belonged to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, especially Swat district, but it was unfortunate that the provincial government led by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf didn’t bother to campaign for their release.

Amina, who heads the Defence of Human Rights and Public Service Trust, told reporters here at the Swat Press Club that families of missing persons had long been in distress and that delay in the release of their relatives had been adding to their misery.

“Delay in the release of missing persons from Swat makes a mockery of the sacrifices rendered by local residents for peace,” she said.

The rights activist said hundreds of missing persons had been kept at internment centres and most of them were from Swat district.

She said the PTI government’s ‘weak role’ in the recovery of missing persons had disappointed the people.

“The provincial government doesn’t even speak about missing persons,” she said.

Amina said her organisation had filed a petition with the Supreme Court against extra-judicial killings and that it would continue with its struggle for early release of missing persons.

Rights activist Amina says internees should be produced in courts for trial

She said bodies of over 70 missing persons from Swat had so far been handed over to their families.

The rights activist said missing persons should be produced in the courts of law for trial instead of being kept at internment centres.

She also demanded that families be allowed to meet internees.

Female members of some missing persons were also present on the occasion.

PPP LEADER KILLED: Gunmen on Wednesday evening killed former general secretary of Pakistan People’s Party and ex-Union Council nazim Fazal Hayat Chattan in Qambar village of Swat valley.

The attackers, whose identity was not known, fled.

The people and police said Chattan was targeted when he was visiting a building under construction near his house after Maghrib prayer.

They said the attack left the PPP leader critically injured, who died at the District Headquarters Hospital, Saidu Sharif shortly after arrival.

BRIDGE OPENED TO TRAFFIC: The Ayub Bridge connecting Kabal and Matta tehsils to the main Mingora city was opened to the traffic on Wednesday after four years of closure.

The bridge was washed away by floods in July 2010 but its reconstruction has completed lately.

Brigadier Aslam Malik of Pakistan Army formally opened the bridge during a special ceremony in Kanju area here.

37 ACCIDENT VICTIMS BURIED: Thirty-seven residents of Swat, who had died in a road accident in Khairpur, were buried in Bahrain and Khwazakhela here on Wednesday.

Earlier, funeral prayers were offered for them, where relatives of accident victims and officials of civil and military administrations, including Major-General Javed Bukhari and deputy commissioner of Swat Mehmood Aslam Wazir were in attendance.

The deputy commissioner told Dawn that the provincial government would announce compensation for the families of accident victims.

He said of the 46 bodies, 37 were shifted to Swat, one to Risalpur, three each to Batagram and Bajaur and one each to Mardan and Upper Dir.

The deputy commissioner said 18 bodies were buried in Khawazakhela and 19 in Bahrain tehsils of Swat district.

He said on the chief minister’s orders, 40 ambulances were sent to Risalpur for transportation of bodies to Swat and other areas for burial.

Published in Dawn, November 13th , 2014