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PAKISTAN: Relatives of the disappeared call for action

02 Oct 2006 14:39:39 GMT
Source: IRIN

ISLAMABAD, 2 October (IRIN) - At a workshop on enforced disappearances organised by Amnesty International (AI) and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) in Islamabad over the weekend, dozens of families of the 'disappeared' called for action to stop abductions and to help trace those missing.

"We need all organisations to join together and urge the government to solve this issue. The lives of dozens have been ruined," Khalid Khwaja, the spokesperson for the families, and head of the Islamic Centre for the Defence of Human Rights, which is representing the families, said.

People who had been abducted, detained and tortured by state agencies, as well as the relatives of those who had gone missing, presented their testimonies at the workshop. At the end of the two-day proceedings, Amnesty and HRCP committed themselves to work with other groups "to end the cruel practice of enforced disappearances" in Pakistan. "It's a terrible situation. The plight of the families is awful, and they have received very little help from any quarter," Amnesty's Angelika Pathak told IRIN.

She also stated that the problem had grown rapidly in Pakistan, with the "concealment of this crime" by the government playing a major part in this. According to data collected by HRCP, at least 600 people have 'disappeared' in the country over the past five years. Initially, with the series of abductions allegedly by state agencies starting soon after the 9/11 bombing attacks in the US - suspected militants were the principle targets. However, since then, more and more Baloch and Sindhi nationalists, from Pakistan's two southern provinces, have become victims. "The situation in Balochistan is just miserable. I cannot even begin to tell you how people are suffering," Asma Jahangir, chairperson of HRCP, told IRIN. At the workshop, Dr Imdad Baloch, a leader of the Baloch Students' Organisation (BSO), one of the political groups on the official list of 'dissident' Baloch forces, gave a moving account of his own abduction and torture in custody. "I was held for two months in Karachi and Quetta. I was beaten, humiliated and severely tortured. We were kept naked, our hands were shackled and we saw no light at all for months," said Dr Baloch, who has suffered acute depression since his release and is on medication. "You don't know what torture does to a person. It is impossible to recover," he later told IRIN. Others present included Amina Masood Janjua, the wife of suspected militant Masood Janjua who had gone missing three years ago. It is not known where he is being held or what charges he faces. "I just want to know where he is; is he alive or dead," Amina said. The wives, mothers and children of over a dozen other disappeared people also attended the workshop. The unrestricted role of intelligence agencies in the country came in for criticism by participants, who included a number of lawyers. It was noted that the defence ministry recently told the Sindh High Court that the intelligence agencies did not fall within its "operational control", making it difficult to hold them to account.

A call was also made for the immediate release of all innocent people currently being detained, including the wives and children of suspected militants. The lack of information and awareness about the issue has created problems which hamper its solution. HRCP has so far gathered details of 170 people who have disappeared. The largest number is in Balochistan.

Asma Jahangir, speaking to reporters, said; "We need to do much more work. It is difficult to verify every fact, but it has been HRCP's policy never to release information until we are certain of its authenticity."

A number of participants also said that state agencies had recently been 'picking up' people on suspicion of sectarian or other crimes. These persons had been held at illegal detention centres for months.

"The problem is just growing bigger and bigger. We all need to unite to combat it," Amnesty Secretary-General Petter Eide told IRIN at the end of the workshop.

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Last updated:Mon Oct 2 14:40:24 2006