Cabinet body seeks comprehensive report on missing persons

ISLAMABAD: The Cabinet Committee on Enforced Disappearance on Wednesday sought a comprehensive report with verifiable facts and figures regarding missing persons from the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances (CoIED).

According to a spokesperson of the law ministry, the development came during the maiden sitting of the cabinet committee held with Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar in the chair.

Many cases reviewed by the CoIED were found to be bogus, with some individuals being proclaimed offenders who had fled the country to avoid legal proceedings, the cabinet committee was told.

In order to resolve the matter of the missing person at the earliest, the committee was granted more powers, including review of steps, and work of the inquiry commission.

The session also noted that there were discrepancies between the figures of the Commission and human rights organisations and civil societies.

Financial assistance of up to Rs5 million would be provided to those families whose beloved were missing for over five years, read a statement issued after the meeting.

The aid package would be subject to verification of legal heirs by Nadra, the law ministry added.

The cabinet body also sought a comprehensive report containing verified facts and figures regarding missing persons from the commission.

The committee also directs to expedite the process of financial assistance for the affected families, the law ministry added.

In August last year, the government had announced a package worth Rs5 million for each family as part of its efforts to provide legal and financial assistance to the heirs of missing persons, said the law minister.

Tarar had said the federal cabinet discussed the issue of missing persons and approved the support package and added that the premier approved the package in light of the recommendations made by the previous committees on the issue of missing persons.

The law minister had said two reports about the missing persons were presented before the cabinet that day, adding that the cabinet also approved the constitution of a special committee to examine genuine cases of families in need of support after reviewing the final report of the committees.

The government was committed to resolving all issues of missing persons by tapping into all resources, Tarar had added.

Earlier, the law minister had claimed that “only 23% of missing persons’ cases were pending", adding that 10,200 cases of missing persons were registered in the COIED out of which around 8,000 cases had been addressed.