QUETTA, June 9: Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, chief of the commission on enforced disappearances, has suggested that the issue of missing persons should be resolved by adopting an “extensive and comprehensive political strategy” and no one should use this human tragedy for political ends.

Speaking at a press conference here on Saturday, he disclosed that 11 to 15 missing persons of Balochistan were in Paktia and Pul-i-Charkhi jails in Afghanistan and there were reports that many people included in the missing persons’ list were living in other countries.

Justice Iqbal said involvement of a foreign hand could not be ruled out in the missing persons issue as intelligence agencies of a number of countries were working to destabilise Balochistan through their networks in Pakistan. However, he added, security institutions, including police, Special Branch, ISI, Military Intelligence and Intelligence Bureau, were making all-out efforts to foil their designs, but they lacked resources and modern equipment.

“We need more efforts to counter conspiracies of foreign intelligences,” Justice Iqbal said, stressing the need for providing resources, equipment and training facilities to security forces.

Justice Iqbal said his commission had traced out 44 missing persons over the past three months, adding that 460 cases of missing persons from across the country had been reported to the commission till May 30 -- 170 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 117 from Punjab, 74 from Sindh, 57 from Balochistan and 12 each from Fata and Azad Kashmir.

He said different organisations working on the issue, including the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, had not provided authentic lists about missing persons.

He said 12 of the 57 missing persons belonging to different areas of Balochistan had reached home over past one week because of efforts made by the commission. “Three of the missing persons who returned home requested not to disclose their names, saying their return is big achievement,” Justice Iqbal said. He said the bodies of seven missing persons had been found in different areas of Balochistan and a case had been registered under Section 302 of the PPC on the orders of the commission.

However, he regretted that the missing persons recovered or returned home were not disclosing who had picked them up and where they had been kept.

“They are completely tight-lipped and not giving any information,” he said, adding that without evidence courts could not punish anyone.