Amendments to ATA will partially resolve missing persons issue, says Sanaullah

ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah has said that granting law enforcement agencies (LEAs) the authority to keep suspected terrorists in preventive detention for up to three months will partially resolve the issue of missing persons besides checking terrorism.

Talking to The News, Sanaullah said that giving the law enforcement agencies, presently fighting terrorism mainly in KP and Balochistan, the legal right to detain an individual in terrorism cases will partially resolve the issue of missing persons. He said that some leading LEAs, both military and civilian, are fighting terrorism but have no legal right to arrest, detain and interrogate a suspected terrorist.

The proposed amendment in the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), he said, will legally allow the civil and military law enforcement agencies to arrest a suspected terrorist. In the absence of such an authority, the PM’s adviser said the issue of missing persons arises.

Sanaullah recalled that during the last PDM government, he being the interior minister was closely working with military authorities and other stakeholders to work out a comprehensive strategy to resolve the issue of missing persons once and for all.

He said that the former army chief Gen (R) Qamar Javed Bajwa had frankly said during discussions on the subject that if the military and civil LEAs don’t get the legal right to detain a suspected terrorist, it will cause the issue of missing persons.

Rana said that in those days’ discussions, it was said that if the LEAs don’t arrest a suspected terrorist and avoid interrogating him, it will help terrorist and terrorist networks at the cost of great threat to the security of people and the country.

Since the LEAs don’t have the legal right to keep a suspected terrorist under detention but are actively involved in counter terrorism activities, the situation causes the issue of missing persons. Sanaullah said that during the PDM government, a comprehensive strategy was discussed to even resolve the issue of past missing persons but the required legislation could not be done in fear of possible controversies by the media and civil society groups.

It was reported by The News in June 2022 that the then government was discussing with the security establishment some legal way out to end the phenomenon of missing persons, which besides causing serious issues of human rights has also become an embarrassment for both the successive governments and agencies.

It was reported, “The most complex and sensitive issue of missing persons is presently the focus of both the civil government and the security establishment. The discussion is to find a solution focused on how to deal with the situation so that neither the dangerous suspects of terrorism and anti-state activities get any space to operate nor the agencies misuse their power or arrest any innocent.”

It was said that these discussions had even been held in the National Security Committee meeting, which has the representation of top civil-military leadership and security agencies. “Both the civil government and the security establishment agree that some legal solution to the problem be evolved without compromising the security aspect but ensuring that no person gets missing. However, what should be the solution is not yet final,” said The News report.

During the same government, a high-level ministerial committee led by the then interior minister Sanaullah was also constituted to consult all stakeholders and firm up its proposals to address the issue of missing persons.

The ministerial committee included ministers from Balochistan and former FATA areas. It had held meetings with relatives of missing persons, representatives of security agencies and relevant government departments to evolve a strategy where the issue of missing persons could be addressed without compromising security aspects. The committee had also consulted the judiciary. However, it could not complete its work to avoid controversies.