Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani on Wednesday accused the government of withholding information from Parliament regarding the disappearance of Lt Col Mohammad Habib ─ a retired Pakistan Army officer who went missing while visiting Nepal in April.

Habib had arrived in Nepal after somebody by the name of Mark Thompson had contacted him via email and telephone for a job interview there.

The officer has been untraceable since April 6 from Lumbini, a Nepalese town near the Indian border and a Buddhist pilgrimage site, soon after his arrival there. He last contacted his family on that day and since then, his phone numbers have been unreachable.

Col Habib’s family reported his disappearance to the Foreign Office after not having been able to reach him. He is feared to have been abducted

"I have said before that the government cannot hide information from the Parliament," Rabbani said during a session of the Senate after being briefed by Senator Abdul Qadir Baloch on the case of the missing officer.

During his briefing, the PML-N senator issued contradictory statements as he told the Senate that although no proof of Indian involvement was found in Col Habib’s disappearance, he was confident of the Indian government's involvement.

Baloch added that Col Habib's case cannot be taken to International Court of Justice or the United Nations due to lack of evidence.

He claimed that the disappearance of the colonel was closely related to the ongoing case of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav who was sentenced to death by a Field General Court Martial on April 11.

Senator Gen Adbul Qayyum, backing Baloch's statement, vowed that no compromise would be made as far as Jadhav's death sentence is concerned, and that the Indian spy would be punished.

Baloch also told the Senate that the missing colonel's contact with the man named Mark Thompson in the UK took place via Skype not phone, contradicting earlier reports which suggested that a computer-generated number was used to call Habib.

The man who received Habib in Nepal belongs to a firm, Baloch said, adding the government is making every effort to discover more about the case.

Rabbani told Baloch the lack of information provided to the Senate was not his fault.

"You can only know what you have been told," Rabbani assured the senator, adding that the members of Upper House received far more information from the media than from the government.

Opposition leaders present during the Senate session voiced their concerns regarding the colonel's disappearance and criticised the government for inaction.

PPP’s Aitzaz Ahsan criticised the government for remaining silent on Habib’s disappearance. He claimed that the government’s sole aim was to create a controversy around the JIT and Supreme Court.

Ahsan cited Indian national Uzma's case as an example that brought shame to the government. He said that Uzma, who returned to India earlier this month, was supported by the Indian government.

He added that Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj had remained in contact with Uzma through out the time she was in Pakistan

Ahsan lamented that even though a court in Pakistan had allowed Uzma to return to her country, she had not mentioned this in her speech upon returning to India.

MQM Senator Mian Ateeq also raised questions over the government’s role in Habib’s case and demanded the Upper House be informed about the progress the government had made with the Nepalese government.

Ateeq claimed that Col Habib was tricked into leaving the country by an attractive employment opportunity presented by Thompson.

PPP Senator Sehar Kamran raised her concerns as well by asking, "Is this incident a message that no Pakistani should travel abroad for employment?"

She backed the opposition’s demand that the case be taken to international court.

"It is important that the House be given complete information about Col Habib’s disappearance, Qatar crisis and Afghanistan," the chairman demanded.

He added that an in-camera session can be called if it is a matter of national security. He summoned foreign adviser to brief the Senate.