How Pakistan has normalised `disappearances` of Baloch as state policy

A lawyer by profession, Faisal Siddiqi, writes in Dawn how the state has normalised disappearances` of Baloch as state policy.

He argues that in a chilling departure from the usual tactics of secrecy, Pakistan brazenly acknowledges its use of enforced disappearances as a state policy. Yet, this astonishing honesty becomes a perverse facade, masking a practice that continues unabated, leaving families shattered and justice perpetually out of reach.

The evidence of this grim reality is irrefutable. The Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, established by Pakistan itself in 2010, stands as a monument to the ongoing crisis. Its doors remain open, receiving thousands of cases – almost 10,000 as of August 2023, with Balochistan bearing the brunt of this human rights travesty.

Furthermore, official reports and independent investigations offer damning proof. Former Commission chairman Justice Kamal Mansur Alam’s 2010 report meticulously documents the state’s institutionalized policy of disappearances. Leaked documents obtained by journalist Hein Kiessling further expose the chilling reality.

Astonishingly, Pakistan adds another layer to this macabre charade. In 2013, acknowledging the sheer severity of the issue, they established the Federal Task Force on Missing Persons. Yet, while these bodies acknowledge the problem, the practice continues unabated. Each month, new cases pile up at the Commission – 157 in July 2023 alone – making a mockery of attempts to address the issue.

Instead of dismantling this insidious system, the Commission appears to be legitimizing it. It operates as a conveyor belt, processing disappearances rather than dismantling them. This charade of accountability serves only to perpetuate a brutal injustice.

Pakistan’s enforced disappearances remain a stain on its conscience. The state’s brazen acknowledgement of this policy, coupled with its failure to dismantle it, paints a picture of a system operating with impunity, leaving families in agony and victims forever lost in the shadows. Until Pakistan takes concrete steps to eradicate this practice, its claims of accountability ring hollow, echoing only the cries of the disappeared and the despair of their loved ones.

December 30,2023

For full commentary, visit https://www.dawn.com/news/1801825/the-missing-baloch

By Editor

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