Enforced Disappearances in Pakistan

Abstract

The uprising against enforced disappearances has been exceptionally strong in Pakistan. It has
highlighted the illegal activities of state actors and has urged the judiciary to bring security
agencies to accountability. In the light of the historical analysis, this article argues that the
movement has led people across the world to react on this issue generated by War on Terror in
Pakistan. The state’s stance to undermine human rights for eradicating terrorism is challenged by
a movement which is majorly anti-war on Terror and is strengthened by historical and ideological
factors as well as respect for human rights.

Introduction

Justification and Research Question

Pakistan is a democratic state. Like other countries, road to democracy is full of obstacles. Pakistan
has witnessed several military regimes throughout its history which ultimately resulted in massive
exploitation and violation of human rights.

Article 25 of the Constitution of Pakistan states, “All citizens are equal before law and are entitled
to equal protection of law.” Despite this, there is a general perception among people that their
security and life is not adequately ensured. And this claim is backed by several incidents of
enforced or involuntarily disappearances happening across Pakistan.

Enforced disappearance, which is characterized as secret imprisonment or killing of a person

without any reporting the reason is considered to be a serious violation of human rights for decades.
The victim is often abducted, illegally detained and tortured. This has been a huge issue and states
around the world fail to take certain initiatives to address it.

Since enforced disappearances are matter of intense secrecy, it is quite hard to identify the number
of people subjected to extra-judicial detention. Their relatives are afraid to speak up therefore their
cases fait to reach the courts and get media’s attention.

The Pakistani government is alleged to use enforced disappearances extensively in the name of
state security. It was initially practiced in the context of US led war on terror. It targeted the
activists involved in raising their voice for regional and ethnic rights, particularly in Sindh and
Baluchistan. (Internationa, 2008)

This paper will examine the efforts to figure out the truth and to search for the missing persons,
focusing on how Pakistani government and judiciary address this issue and treat this particular
group of victims. It will also reveal the experiences of the victims and state’s accountability.

This study also reflects the views of relatives of disappeared persons, civil society organizations,
and other related authorities. With reference to this context, this study will answer the following
question:

 What is the role of Pakistani government and to what extent it ensures the right to truth
about the fate and whereabouts of disappeared persons and the obligation to locate them?

Methodology

An interdisciplinary method was applies in this study in order to answer the various components
of the research puzzle. The analysis of laws that formulate the international law and related legal
bindings that determines the right to truth and the obligation to locate the disappeared. I have
collected the data by analyzing the text of treaties and court decisions. Other secondary sources
include journal articles and legal doctrines.

Moreover, I have used qualitative method for the content analysis. I have also conducted semi-
structured interviews in this regard in order to determine the public opinion. Other pre-existing
interviews of victims, their relatives and related figures were also considered during this research.

ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES VIOLATE INTERNATIONAL AND PAKISTANI LAW:

In December, 2006, UN General Assembly adopted a convention called the International

Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, of which Article 6
states that; “...the arrest, detention, abduction, or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents
of the state or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support, or
acquiescence of the state, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by
concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which place such a person
outside the protection of the law.”
It is not only a type of human right violation but also results in violation of several other human
rights such as including freedom from arbitrary detention, the right to recognition as a person
before the law, and the right not to be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment. (Kyriakou, 2012)

Pakistan is bound by the prohibition of enforced disappearances which is binding of customary

International Law. In addition any act of enforced disappearances also violates the constitution of
Pakistan including freedom from arbitrary detention, the right to judicial overview of detentions
and to human dignity, and the prohibition of torture, as well as constituting criminal offences.

THE POLITICAL CONTEXT:

Since Pakistan initiated US led war on terror in late 2001, Pakistani government is alleged of
carrying out the act of enforced disappearances in the name of counter terrorism by targeting its
internal critics. Many Pakistani nationals and even foreign people are accused by the Pakistani
government to be involved in terrorist activities. They have been arbitrarily detained and denied
access to their families, courts and lawyers.

The government usually adopt offensive approach to cope with anti-government forces. It
eventually results in the violation of basic human rights in Pakistan which is continuously being
practiced by the tool of exploitation and manipulation.

The targeted population is usually the members of Sindh and Baloch nationalities, striving for self-
determination and greater rights of their community more specifically, the right to access their
provincial assets and natural resources which are yet to be explored and could bring wealth to their
province and community.

Pakistan is said to bear a great responsibility for the violation of human rights. The reason, as
stated above, is the vested interests of the related officials. The untapped natural resources are left
on the mercy of foreign companies. These firms extract the raw material and buy on a very cheap
rate. The extracted material is then transported abroad for the purification purposes, mostly to US
and allies and the refined product is sent to the market for sale at a very high price. This is done to
capture the market and to maintain the economic hegemony of the West over third world countries.

Many people who survived the enforced disappearance and were released from the intelligence
agencies’ custody claim that they were being frequently visited and interrogated by the foreign
agents during their detention at the unknown place where they were tortured and ill-treated without
any legal case and access to their families. (Shafiq, 2013)

Musharraf era witnessed a number of disappearances. Despite this, Musharraf administration

rigidly negated the fact and refused to reveal their fate or any whereabouts. The Amnesty report
released in September and December 2006 documented dozen of cases of enforced disappearances.
To which President Musharraf responded in a way, “I don’t even want to reply to that, it is
nonsense, I don’t believe it, I don’t trust it”. He further added, 700 people were in the government’s
legal custody. In March 2007, President Musharraf claimed that the allegation of a number of
missing people to be in the custody of intelligence agencies had “absolutely no basis”. According
to him, those missing people would be recruited by ‘jihadi groups’. He said, “I am deadly sure that
the missing persons are in the control of militant organizations.” (Internationa, 2008)

GOVERNMENT VS. JUDICIARY

During the period of 2006 and 2007, Pakistani judiciary tried to intervene in the executive’s affair
which was alleged to be involved in corruption, violation of constitution and other human rights
abuses. Consequently, the executive wing of the state came into action and initiated efforts to
destabilizing the judiciary. In March 2007, Chief Justice of Pakistan was suspended by the
president. The emergency proclaimed in the Musharraf’s era resulted in the release of several
extremists and terrorists. In addition, militants were encouraged across the country while law
enforcing agencies were subdued. This created a worst scenario and resulted in the over efficient
activities of local and foreign agencies by targeting civilians in the name of war on terror.
(Internationa, 2008)

Literature Review

The problem of disappearances in Pakistan is prevalent and is not limited to Baluchistan province.
The report of Human Rights Watch focuses on the incidences of the enforced disappearances that
were carried out in broad daylight, often in busy public areas, and in the presence of multiple
witnesses. Victims were taken away from shops and hotels, public buses, university campuses,
homes, and places of work.

Witnesses frequently described the perpetrators as armed men in civilian clothes, usually arriving
in one or more four-door pickup trucks. Another distinctive feature of enforced disappearances in
Baluchistan is that many of the victims, especially senior political activists, have been
“disappeared” more than once. They have been picked up, held in unacknowledged detention for
weeks or even months, released, and then abducted again.

There is barely any information about these disappeared people. Those who were released by the
security agencies after interrogation remained reluctant to reveal about their disappearance. The
government has not kept its promises to address the problem of enforced disappearances in
Baluchistan. (Enforced disappearances in Pakistan by security foreces, 2011)

On Feb 26, 2013, the United Nations Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances
(WGEID) published its report on Pakistan, following its visit to the country in September 2012.
The report expressed high concern at the prevailing practice of enforced disappearances and made
a series of recommendations to the government.

The WGEID insisted Pakistan to endorse the International Convention for the Protection of All
Persons from Enforced Disappearance (Convention on Enforced Disappearance). The government
failed to made progress towards ratification. Instead, it has sought to weaken an attempt by the
Supreme Court to apply the principles outlined in the convention. (Thousands Remain Missing in
Pakistan, 2010)

The problems in Baluchistan had been looked at in the perspective of a Baloch insurgency and
Baloch rights. Despite the administration's oft-voiced desire for a political answer for the crisis in
Baluchistan no further steps had been taken on engaging with nationalist elements through talks.
(Solutions To Resolve the Balochistan Impasse, 2012)

Specific Cases

Naseem Baloch, age 32 and Ilyas Karim, age 31:

32–year-old medical doctor Naseem Baloch and31-year-old Ilyas Karim got from a pharmacy near
the Bolan Medical Complex. Their relatives and the staff of the Bolan Medical Complex filed an
application for an FIR on May 26, 2010, alleging that the FC and intelligence agencies were behind
the disappearance. Relatives of Naseem and Karim also filed a petition with the Baluchistan High
Court on May 29, 2010. The court has held several hearings. Later, their relatives reveal that they
have been informed by the Chief Minister if Baluchistan that the two people were in the custody
of military intelligence wing of the army.

Nasibullah Langao, age 14, and Abdul Waheed, age 12:

On March 5, 2010, fourteen-year-old Nasibullah Langao and 12-year-old Abdul Waheed, students
from village Ismail in Hudda, Quetta, disappeared after they initiated the inquiry about the murder
of Langao’s uncle, Abdul Majid Langao. It is said that Majid’s dead body was recovered while the
two young victims remain missing.

Enforced disappearance of Najibullah Qambrani, age 27:

In the late evening of October 22, 2009, 27 year-old Najibullah Qambrani was abducted by a group
of uniformed Frontier Corps soldiers and men in plainclothes from his houseafter the two days,
Qambrani’s family filed an FIR claiming Qambrani had been picked up by the FC and “agencies.”
But Qambrani’s brother said that the police refused to lodge the FIR because, according to the
police, “they could not file an FIR against security forces.”

Enforced disappearance and extra-judicial killing of Sher Mohammed Baloch, age 35,
Ghulam Mohammed Baloch, age 40, and Lala Munir, age 50:

On April 3, 2009, Sher Mohammed Baloch, Ghulam Mohammed Baloch, and Lala Munir were in
their lawyer’s office where they were discussing the criminal cases they had been fighting.
According to their relatives, after their bail on initial arrest they were being continuously
threatened through phone calls.

One of the relative of Sher Muhammed said that on the evening of April 3, 2009, when the town
of Thurbat was under FC control, the victims were discussing their cases after the hearing, a group
of people dressed in civilian clothes entered the room and started smashing everything around
claiming the three people to be terrorists. The witnesses later informed the relatives that agency
personnel handcuffed the three men and put them in car.

Sher Muhammed later managed to call a friend and informed him about his detention by the
intelligence agency. After that, several petitions were filed by their relatives. Police received
phone call on April 9 informing about the dead bodies of the three people. It was revealed by the
relative later that visible signs of sever torture could be seen on the bodies in the form of bullet
holes, tied hands, burn marks and bruises on the back and chest.

Enforced Disappearance of Tawakal Khan, 64 years old:

Tawakal Khan, a shepherd was abducted by 15 men dressed in uniform and plain clothes when he
was in a certain store. They approached him and dragged him to the vehicle. His relatives remained
reluctant to file a case as they were worried they might also be ‘disappeared’. Khan’s family said
that he was not involved in politics but he was picked up because he was the senior member of the
tribe that had not good terms with the army. (Enforced Disappearances by Pakistani security
forces., 2011)

Zeenat Shahzadi- one of the recent cases:

Zeenat Shahzadi, a 24 year old journalist and activist was picked up while she was on her way to
work. Her younger brother committed suicide when all his efforts ended in failure to discover her
whereabouts. Prior to her disappearance, she was making efforts to ensure the safe recovery of an
Indian engineer arrested by Pakistani Agency back in November 2010 who got his visa rejected
and was in love with a Pakistani girl who was about to get married whom he met on Facebook.
She was working in Daily Nai Khabar and the Metro News television channel in Lahore, Punjab.
She got missing by plain-clothed men when she was to appear before Commission of Inquiry on
Enforced Disappearances on August 24. Police filed a case against ‘unknown people’.

Zeenat’s younger brother, a 12 grade student committed suicide in depression while her father is
in shock till now. According to her elder brother her mother is also in coma. Zeenat’s
disappearance has been included among the missing person’s cases being investigated by a joint
investigation team (JIT). The JIT has said the case from her family will be heard in April, but no
date has been announced yet. (alaiwah, 2016)

Conclusion

Successive governments continued to ignore the recommendations of the commission to take the
steps in order to prevent such cases in future. This eventually promoted the practice of enforced
disappearances by the security forces personnel. The increasing crisis in Baluchistan provides a
chance to state to cooperate with Baloch people to maintain stability in the region.
A perfect fusion of democracy and military is required to deal with instability provided that
security forces need to stop violating basic human rights. The cost of not doing so could be second
episode of Dhaka fall at the hands of militant groups and secessionists, according to some leading
analysts.

Some important steps the government can take are to actually implement constitutional provisions
on resource royalties, hold a population census and adjust recruitment percentages for the military,
bureaucracy, and even the proportions in the lower house of the parliament.

In the case of Pakistan, raising the political will of the civilian government only partially addresses
the issue of human rights violations. The history of the conflict in Baluchistan, as well as the
dominance of the politics by the military and bureaucratic elite, shows that the security forces that
commit human rights violations usually act without orders from the Interior Ministry or the Prime
Minister, for which they can be called into question. International organizations must pressurize
the civilian authorities in Pakistan to introduce accountability and end structural exemption.

Key recommendations

To the Government of Pakistan:

 Investigate all the allegations and the cases filed against enforced disappearances until the
fate of each victim is publically demonstrated.
 Investigate all the related allegations of torture, extra-judicial killings and all kinds of
abuses.
 Instruct the police to file cases for the victims even if these are against security forces or
intelligence agencies.
 Ensure that police and d Commission of Inquiry for Missing Persons (CIMP) have
sufficient authority and resources to invest the cases without any external intervention and
political pressure.
 Ensure that police and CIMP have access to sensitive data and can obtain required
information from any state agency including intelligence agencies and military.
 Prosecute the officials regardless of their rank, who are found guilty and involved in act of
detaining innocent people illegally.
  Inform detainees immediately about the reason for their detention. Inform their family
about their detention and the location of detainee.
 Allow direct contact of detainee with family and access to lawyer and court.
 Bring detainees in courts for a legal hearing and address the charge against them.
 Introduce legislation on considering enforced disappearance as a criminal offence.
 Ensure that all the detained people are held in safe places in safe hands.
 Revise all the legislation that allows detention on vague and unclear charges. These laws
include Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (1960), the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, the
“Sedition Law” Section 124-A of the Pakistan Penal Code, and the Security of Pakistan
Act, 1952.

To Pakistan’s International Partners, in particular the United States and United Kingdom
that have relationships with Pakistan’s security and intelligence agencies:

 Demand Pakistani government to end the practice of enforced disappearances across the
country, particularly in Baluchistan.
 Demand directly to the agencies to end such human rights violating practices. Making clear
that continued practiced would result in ending up ties with responsible agencies.
 Ensure the presence of adequate mechanisms that deter all sort of working, training and
funding of human rights violating units and help to deter abuses in future.
 The US should implement the Leahy Law which prohibits the military assistance to any
unit of the security forces or a foreign country where there is clear evidence that such unit
has committed gross violations of human rights.
References
Internationa, A. (2008). DENYING THE UNDENIABLE: ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES IN PAKISTAN.
london: Amnesty International Publications.

Kyriakou, N. (2012). The War on Terror and the Enforced Disappearances in Pakistan. The European
University Institute.

Shafiq, A. (2013). The War on Terror and the Enforced Disappearances in Pakistan. Human Rights
Review.

alaiwah. (2016). Zeenat Shahzadi Remains Missing.

(2011). Enforced Disappearances by Pakistani security forces. New York: Human Rights Watch.

(2011). Asian Human Rights Commission.

(2011). Asian Human Rights Commision .

(2008). Denying the Undeniable: Enforced Disappearances in Pakistan. Amnesty Internationa.

(2011). Enforced disappearances in Pakistan by security foreces. New York: Human Rights Watch.

(2012). Solutions To Resolve the Balochistan Impasse. alaiwah.

(2010). Thousands Remain Missing in Pakistan. alaiwah.