Bringing to Light Pakistan's Silent Crisis: Enforced Disappearances
“After being released from abduction by order of the Baluchistan High Court, my father was tragically abducted again, this time in front of my brother. Two years later, all hope shattered when a mutilated body, identified as my father's, was discovered," recounts Mahrang Baloch, shedding light on the unyielding horror of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
Last month, protesters gathered in Islamabad, demanding their basic rights. This outcry stemmed from the extrajudicial killing of an innocent young boy named Balach Baloch. Among the protesters' demands was the fair trial of individuals who had been illegally abducted. In a significant ruling in 2022, Justice Athar Minallah held the state accountable for enforced disappearances. This protest took prominence on social media but unfortunately not on electronic media.
The issue of enforced disappearances gained prominence after the 9/11 incident. Human Rights organizations in Pakistan alleged that unknown individuals abducted people and either handed them over to the United States or executed them extrajudicially. Recently, the Supreme Court of Pakistan instructed the Commission on Enforced Disappearances to submit a 'comprehensive' report.
Furthermore, the people who went missing from Sindh and Punjab in the past include a list of political opponents, journalists, human rights activists, or their sympathizers. Behind all these forcible disappearances, most of the fingers are pointed towards the Army, paramilitary forces, and the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence). On the other hand, law enforcement agencies claim that the missing persons have fled across the border or have joined insurgent groups. Although the efforts of the law enforcement agencies are commendable in mitigating the current situation in the country, the question that haunts every Pakistani is when will the state put an end to the extra-judicial killings, kidnappings, and enforced disappearances occurring across the country. Considering the current situation of forcible disappearances in the country, it can be said with conviction that Pakistan is nowhere near a utopian state. Moreover, the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearance (WGEID) made a country visit to Pakistan in 2012, roughly a decade after 9/11, and issued a report in the following year. The Working Group was deeply concerned when it uncovered the statistics regarding the victims of the enforced disappearances. It made a list of recommendations and suggestions to the Government of Pakistan to mitigate the situation. The WGEID undertook a follow-up visit in 2016, but unfortunately, the WGEID reported that the situation had gotten worse than ever before. None of the recommendations had been implemented by the government, and the WGEID expressed alarming concern regarding the widespread practice of this inhumane act. According to a report by the Working Group, it received 1144 cases of alleged enforced disappearances in Pakistan during the years 1980 to 2019. Out of these cases, the majority were reported during 2015- 2016. By the end of 2019, 731 cases out of 1144 were placed in the category of ‘unclarified’.
Additionally, the WGEID was astounded at the horrific violation of fundamental human rights in Pakistan. In the same report, the WGEID reported to the UN Human Rights Council its concerns regarding Pakistan's people. The report also stated that the Working Group keeps on receiving high numbers of allegations of enforced disappearances from Pakistan even today. The UN's Working Group also stated that it was profoundly concerned about the cases in which the victims' families, their legal representatives, and activists were being targeted as an act of reprisal.
When it comes to the rights of the citizens of Pakistan, the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1973 provides ample protection for the life, liberty, and body of each citizen.
Article 4 of the Constitution provides rights to Individuals to be dealt with in accordance with the law.
Article 9 of the Constitution safeguards the security of the citizens of Pakistan. It states that no person shall be deprived of his right to life except per the provisions of life. This article also puts a bar on arbitrary deprivation.
Article 10 of the Constitution of Pakistan encompasses the safeguards as to arrest and detention. According to the article, no person shall be arrested or detained without informing him of the reason for doing so at the earliest possible opportunity. After arresting the person, he has a right to be presented before the local magistrate of the area within 24 hours. Article 10 of the Constitution also deals with preventive detention and highlights its qualifications. Although the term preventive detention has no authoritative definition, it is noticeable that it has always been used against the word ‘punitive’. In other words, preventive detention is awarded not as a punishment but as a preventive measure
Article 10-A of the Constitution has been added after the eighteenth amendment. It guarantees a right to a fair trial and due process of law to any person who comes to the court. Additionally, this article applies to both the criminal as well as the civil obligations and rights. Although the right to a fair trial has not been described in the Constitution, it has been elaborated in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Article 6 of ECHR and article 14 of ICCPR, the right to a fair trial includes a trial conducted publicly by an impartial tribunal. Such a tribunal shall announce the judgment before the public within a specified time. In matters of national interest or security, the public and the media may be barred from attending the case proceedings. Moreover, the accused shall be considered innocent during the period until proven otherwise. In a case where the accused is found to be guilty, he shall be communicated appropriately any, or all charges proven against him. All these parameters shall fall within the scope of ‘right to a fair trial and due process of law.
Now the question arises here is that, whether these rights are being given to the citizens of Pakistan?
The reports and grievances of the families of victims show that these rights are not being given to the citizens of Pakistan. The recent arrests and detentions of the workers and leaders of a political party also suggest that there is no law and order in Pakistan. The same is happening to them which they have done in the past to their political opponents. The reporter "Imran Riaz Khan" had been allegedly illegally detained for a couple of months, but nobody took any action against that illegal act.
The need of the moment is that each and every department must work in their domain rather than making their influence in the governmental departments. The 2021 proposed bill to tackle enforced disappearances must be passed and implemented in due course. The government of Pakistan should deal with this situation with an iron hand. Legislative bodies should develop an amendment bill that is formulated keeping in view the Working Group's recommendations and the suggestions put forward by the victims' families and human rights organizations. Instead of targeting the victims' families, the bill should be directly aimed at the actual perpetrators to eradicate this practice once and for all. Additionally, all the recommendations made to the COIED by the United Nations must be implemented and executed at the earliest possible time. Most importantly, to ensure the impartiality of the COIED, the government of Pakistan should make sure that the commission is structurally as well as functionally independent of any other institute or organization in the country. Additionally, media censorship should be discouraged so the actual stories of the victims and their families can reach the masses. One of the most important words that people often tend to underestimate is the word 'awareness'. The citizens of Pakistan should educate themselves in this regard and do whatever they can to put an end to tyranny and this reign of lawlessness. Only if these recommendations are followed the country might see a day on which the plight of the victims and their loved ones are heard and justly answered.
Author: Advocate Muhammad Shoaib Irshad a human rights advocate, runs his own blog where he sheds light on critical issues
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