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After hearing the case of a missing journalist, Mudassir Naru on April 22, the Islamabad High Court Chief Justice released a written order to seek a report from the government on enforced disappearances of people, administering the deputy attorney general to place it on record.
According to Dawn, IHC directed the interior secretary to inform the court about any development in the case after meeting Naru's family with the prime minister. The court also directed the interior secretary to inform the court about further developments in the case. Moreover, the IHC also appointed Amna Masood Janjua of Defence of Human Rights as amicus curiae in the case, with Janjua having informed the court that she has a copy of a report compiled by the commission on 'enforced disappearances'. Enforced disappearances are used as a tool by Pakistani authorities to terrorize people who question the all-powerful army establishment of the country, or seek individual or social rights. Cases of enforced disappearances have been majorly recorded in the Balochistan and the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces of the country which host active separatist movements. Journalists and several media practitioners have also been a target of such unlawful and dangerous practices taking place in the country. According to the order, the counsel for the parties had recommended the government should be given an opportunity to state its policy on the missing persons, and amicus curiae, Faisal Siddiqui, had informed the court of the recommendations of the task force, instituted in 2013, had been sent to the interior ministry, Dawn reported. The court directed the deputy attorney general to place the report on the court's record after getting instructions from the federal government, the report stated further. Cases of disappearances, especially from ethnic minority areas continue unabated in Pakistan with a commission recording a total of 158 missing persons for the year 2022. (ANI)
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