By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The National Judicial Policy Making Committee (NJPMC) has established a dedicated committee to develop an institutional response to the country’s persistent human rights crisis of enforced disappearances.
The NJPMC, which oversees judicial policy and aims to strengthen the justice system, met under Chief Justice Yahya Afridi. Joined by high court chief justices and Additional Attorney General Mansoor Awan, the group tackled issues ranging from court technology to judicial performance.
But the spotlight fell on enforced disappearances, a decades-long scourge, and the need to protect judicial independence.
During the session, the committee took “serious notice of the enforced disappearances” and “unanimously resolved that the judiciary would not compromise on its constitutional duty to safeguard fundamental rights,” according to a statement issued by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
“The NJPMC strongly condemned enforced disappearances and unanimously resolved that the judiciary will neither compromise on its constitutional mandate, nor shall it fall prey to expediencies when it comes to safeguarding fundamental liberties, particularly in matters as grave as enforced disappearances.”
To act on that resolve, the NJPMC formed a committee of senior judicial officials and the Law and Justice Commission secretary, tasking them with delivering recommendations within 30 days. The attorney general will relay input from the executive branch.
Enforced disappearances have been a deeply emotive and unresolved issue in Pakistan for years. The Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, established in 2011 to trace missing persons and hold accountable those responsible, reported receiving 10,592 cases as of June 2025. Of these, 6,786 have been traced, with 4,771 individuals returning home, 1,017 held in internment centers, and 705 in prisons.
Yet thousands of cases remain unresolved, and the problem shows no signs of abating: in the first half of 2025 alone, 125 new cases were submitted to the commission. The commission’s monthly breakdown reveals the scale of the challenge. In June, 27 new cases were received nationwide, while 33 were disposed of. Earlier in the year, January saw 26 cases received and 209 disposed of, February had 12 new cases and 104 disposed of, March recorded 30 new cases and 34 disposed of, April had 11 new cases and 42 disposed of, and May saw 19 new cases with 62 disposed of.
Despite these efforts, the steady influx of new cases underscores the urgency of the NJPMC’s initiative. The Supreme Court has repeatedly engaged with this issue. In December 2024, the Constitutional Bench emphasized that only parliament holds the authority to resolve the unlawful practice of enforced disappearances. Chief Justice Afridi, speaking in May, stressed the need for “a closure of this issue for all times to come,” reflecting the judiciary’s growing impatience with the lack of progress.
The NJPMC also moved to protect the judiciary from outside influence, ordering high courts to set up systems within 30 days for judges to report and address interference, particularly from executive or intelligence agencies. The directive follows allegations that have rattled the judicial system. In March 2024, six Islamabad High Court judges accused intelligence agencies of meddling in judicial affairs, prompting calls for an investigation.
The Supreme Judicial Council, which oversees judicial conduct, will take up the issue at its meeting on July 12. The controversy earlier spurred then-Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa to initiate suo motu proceedings after former Chief Justice Tassaduq Jillani declined to lead an inquiry. Chief Justice Afridi, before his appointment, recused himself from the case, arguing it belonged with the Islamabad High Court.
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