The commission of inquiry on enforced disappearances has received 59 new cases of enforced disappearance from across the country during the month of October.
According to the statistics of the commission, available with Naya Daur, 63 cases had been disposed off during the month of October.
The statistics detail that till the month of October, the commission received a total of 6431 cases of enforced disappearances, out of which 4140 have been disposed off.
The commission in its report said that 649 cases were reported in 2015, 728 in 2016, 868 in 2017, 1098 in 2018 and 725 cases were reported in 2019 till the month of October.
Punjab
The data revealed that 1343 cases of enforced disappearances and missing persons were reported in Punjab, out of which 897 persons were traced. Among the traced cases, 78 persons are kept in different internment centres, 136 in prisons, 59 persons dead bodies were found, while 624 persons returned to their homes. Moreover, 317 cases are currently under investigation while the rest have not been identified.
Sindh
In the case of Sindh, the total number of missing persons cases received by the commission till October is 1580, out of which 898 persons were traced out by the commission. Of these, 30 are kept in different internment centres of the country, 234 persons are in different prisons, and 51 dead bodies were found. Moreover, 583 returned to their homes, while 346 cases were currently being investigated and have not been identified yet.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)
In the province of KP, the commission received a total of 2434 cases till the month of October, in which 1101 cases have been traced out. The data added that 604 persons are kept in different internment centres, 63 persons are held in prisons, 46 dead bodies had been found, and 388 persons had returned to their homes. Meanwhile, 1183 are currently under investigation and have not been identified.
Balochistan
In the volatile province Baluchistan, which has always been in the news for enforced disappearances, a relatively lower number of cases have been reported. Till October, the commission received 466 cases, out of which 182 cases were traced out. Six persons are kept in different jails, 28 dead bodies were received, and 148 persons returned to their homes. 158 cases are under investigation while no one was found to be held in an internment centre.
Erstwhile FATA
In erstwhile FATA, 273 cases were reported till October, out of which 134 cases have been traced out. 64 persons are kept in different internment centres, and dead bodies 9 missing persons have been found. Moreover, 23 persons are held in prisons, and 38 have returned to their homes. Meanwhile, the whereabouts of 131 persons are still unknown and being investigated.
Gilgit Baltistan (GB)
From Gilgit Baltistan, the commission received a total of eight cases. One person has been traced out who is being kept in an internment centre while the whereabouts of 2 persons are still unknown. Five cases were deleted from the data of the commission due to being out its domain. Three persons reported to be missing met with an accident while traveling from Hunza to Lahore.
Azad Jammu and Kashmir
The commission received a total of 55 missing persons cases, out of which 22 cases have been traced out. Moreover, 11 persons have been found in jail, one in prison, and the dead bodies of two have been received. The whereabouts of 20 persons are still not traceable.
Islamabad
In the case of the federal capital, the commission received a total of 272 cases till October of this year, out of which 162 cases have been traced out. 17 persons are being kept in different internment centres, 26 persons are in prison, while the bodies of 6 person have been received by the commission. Moreover, 113 persons have returned to their homes while the whereabouts of 71 persons are still unknown.
Progress
The commission in its October report mentioned that in total, 63 cases have been disposed off, while the locations of 30 persons have been found. Meanwhile, 18 persons have returned home, and 5 persons have been found to be imprisoned. Moreover, one dead body was received while 33 cases have been deleted due to not falling in the category of enforced disappearance and missing persons.
Hearings in different cities
The commission has carried out 728 hearings of different cases from four cities of Pakistan this month. Out of these, 311 were held in Islamabad, 77 in Peshawar, 83 in Lahore and 249 were held in Karachi while Quetta was excluded from the process due to unknown reasons.
Responses of intelligence agencies in hearings
Khalil-ur-Rehman hails from Bajaur district of erstwhile FATA. His family lodged a missing person report about him. In the commission’s hearings of October, the intelligence agencies revealed that Rehman was confined in the internment centre of Lakki Marwat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Naimullah hails from Dera Ismail Khan. According to intelligence agencies, he is confined in the Lakki Marwat internment centre.
Muhammad Hussain belongs to Swat and is currently confined in the internment centre of Malakand.
Noorzada, hailing from Khyber Agency, is also confined in Lakki Marwat.
Muhammad Raheem belongs to Swat and has been revealed by agencies as having been confined in Paithom internment centre.
Ramzan hails from Karachi and is also confined in the internment centre in Lakki Marwat.
Shams-ul-Haq hails from Lahore and is currently under trial in a military court. His case is still pending as the government didn’t renew the status of the courts in January of this year.
Mohammad Shakeel hails from Lahore and is currently in the custody of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD).