ISLAMABAD: The government has announced a support package of Rs5 million for each family of missing persons, increasing efforts to provide legal and financial assistance to them, according to Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar.
The minister made these comments while telling the media about the decisions from the federal cabinet meeting led by Prime Minister Shehbaz earlier today in Islamabad.
Minister Azam stated that the federal cabinet discussed the issue of missing persons and approved the support package, adding that the premier endorsed the package based on the recommendations made by previous committees on the matter.
He stated that two reports concerning missing persons were presented to the cabinet today. He added that the cabinet also approved the formation of a special committee to review the final report of the committees and examine genuine cases of families in need of support.
The law minister further mentioned that the new committee will address the problems faced by the families of missing persons.
He clarified that the assistance announced today is not a remuneration, but an attempt by the government to share the grief of the families of missing persons and resolve their problems.
The federal minister stated that there are many “complicated” reasons behind the issue of missing persons, adding that the government has taken strict measures to resolve it, and most cases have been addressed through the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances (COIED).
Tarar added that the government is committed to resolving all issues of missing persons by utilizing all available resources.
The minister claimed last month that “only 23% of missing persons’ cases are pending,” adding that 10,200 cases were registered with the COIED, of which around 8,000 have been addressed.
Earlier, Information Minister said that in 2011, the Supreme Court formed an inquiry commission on missing persons, which sorted out 7,900 cases out of 10,023, leaving 23% of the cases pending.
In its report presented in January this year, the missing persons inquiry commission stated that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported 3,485 cases of missing persons, the highest number in the country.
According to the report, casualties from drone attacks and the spike in militancy were the key reasons behind the disappearances.
The commission stated that Balochistan reported 2,752 cases related to enforced disappearances, adding that among other reasons, fleeing abroad without informing their families due to the prevailing situation in the province contributed to these cases.
The government’s announcement came after Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) activists, who were demanding the recovery of missing persons, called off their sit-in in Gwadar earlier today following successful negotiations with the local administration.
