ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Stan­ding Committee on Human Rights will review the performance of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances (CIED) on Monday amid reports that the government plans to remove the commission’s president retired Justice Javed Iqbal.

The committee, according to the agenda of the meeting, will review the status of the cases of missing persons.

According to a latest report of the commission, out of the 4,929 cases of missing persons received till February, 3,219 have been disposed of while action on the rest is in progress. Another 125 cases were registered with the commission in March.

During February, the commission heard 173 cases in Islamabad, 157 in Karachi and 44 in Lahore.

A meeting of the cabinet presided over Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Tuesday considered the replacement of Justice Javed Iqbal as the CIED head.

The interior ministry had reportedly presented a summary before the cabinet seeking replacement of Justice Iqbal on the plea that he also held the office of NAB chairman.

It was proposed that either the chairman should be removed or another member of the commission should be inducted to increase the number of its members to four.

Justice Iqbal was appointed chairman of the commission in September 2011. He had also headed the commission set up on the US operation in Abbottabad in 2011 in which Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden was killed.

Since the appointment of Justice Iqbal as NAB chairman in October last year, the government has raised concerns that NAB has become active against PML-N leaders.

Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2018