A RENEWED push by the Islamabad High Court to trace missing persons has revived hope that these people might be located, and that eventually the deplorable practice of enforced disappearances will be discontinued by the powers that be. A commission formed by the court, and headed by BNP-M head and MNA Akhtar Mengal, was in Quetta to meet the families of missing persons. As a result of the commission’s visit, the Balochistan home department has started to probe 222 complaints out of a total of 700 applications received. On the other hand, officials of Balochistan’s Counter-Terrorism Department told the commission that some of the people reported missing had apparently been killed in operations. The commission has also set up phone/WhatsApp numbers, as well as fax and email contact details, to allow the relatives of missing persons to lodge their applications.

It is welcome that the issue of missing persons is being seen from a political, instead of a security, lens. Apart from Mr Mengal — a leading lawmaker from Balochistan heading the body — other members include respected human rights activists and lawyers. However, it should be remembered that a high-powered body on missing persons already exists: the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, formed by the Supreme Court. This body has had at best a mixed record, and a long list of missing persons has been maintained by it. Some have been located, others have turned up dead, while others still remain untraced. For starters, there should be no duplication of tasks; multiple commissions will only add to the confusion, which is why either both bodies could share their data, or only one commission should be tasked with getting solid results in tracing the disappeared. But in the long run, there should be no need for such commissions as the state’s judicial structure should be strong enough to prevent enforced disappearances in the first place. As this paper has long argued, the practice of picking up people suspected of involvement in terrorism or separatist activity, without recourse to due process, is a vile one, and has no place in a society that claims to respect the constitutional order. Commissions are important, as families need to know where their loved ones are. But ultimately, the buck stops with the security establishment. The latter needs to end extra-legal practices, and bring suspects to the courts if it believes there is a strong case against them.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2022