By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The government announced a Rs5 million support package on Friday for families of missing persons, as it seeks to address growing concerns over the alleged involvement of security forces in enforced disappearances.
The package, approved by the coalition cabinet of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, aims to alleviate economic hardships faced by families due to the disappearance of their loved ones, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar told a news conference.
“Families of missing persons face several economic problems, therefore, in view of those issues, the cabinet had decided to provide an urgent support to them after due diligence.” Tarar said. “The cabinet today has approved an aid package of five million rupees for each family of missing persons.”
The move comes amid ongoing protests and unrest in southwestern Balochistan province over the issue of missing persons, with sporadic violence claiming lives and injuring dozens in recent weeks.
Hundreds of political workers, rights activists and professionals have gone missing in Pakistan over the years, particularly in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces, where militants have waged a war against the state for long.
Families say people picked up by security forces often disappear for years, and are sometimes found dead, with no official explanation. Security agencies have been blamed in many cases, though they have always denied involvement in such disappearances.
The development comes just hours after a Baloch rights group signed an agreement with the local authorities in Gwadar to call off its sit-in that began last Sunday.
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) staged the protest demonstration to highlight the alleged human rights abuses, extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances of Baloch nationals in the province.
Earlier this week, the government notified a three-member committee comprising top intelligence officials to help with the recovery of missing persons, after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had ordered it to do so in February.
Minister Tarar said a special committee will determine eligible families, who will receive the support package after due diligence. “A special committee will be formed to determine which families need an immediate support package, after which each [eligible] family will receive Rs5 million.”
The minister said the package is not a compensation for human life but rather a support measure until the matter is resolved. “Keep in mind that this is not a compensation of any kind, as there is no compensation for a human life.”
“May God have the person return and reunite with their families, then this would not be an amount to be reclaimed. […] We say that the state is like a mother so the state has some responsibilities for its citizens.”
Tarar said over 2,000 cases are facing hardships, with 1,000 prioritized on a first-come, first-served basis beyond a five-year limit.
The Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances (COIOED) has received at total of 10,285 cases of missing persons to date, with 8,015 disposed of, including 4,514 returned home, 1,002 in internment centers, 671 held in prisons, 277 found dead, and 1,551 disposed of.
The law minister informed that “only 23 percent of missing persons cases are pending” as a total of 10,200 cases were brought before the commission working on the issue and 8,000 of them had already been resolved.
“The government is committed to resolving all cases of the missing persons by utilizing all available resources,” he added.
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