New Delhi 23 November : .The Pakistani authorities should stop using enforced disappearance.
Amnesty International outlined the devastating effects on families who are missing from Pakistan.This report details how enforced disappearance is a criminal offense under international law.State agents refuse to hold an individual or provide any information about their fate or whereabouts.It not only violates human rights, but it also affects families’ mental, physical, and financial health.
Even though cases of this have been documented since the mid-1980s the Pakistani intelligence services used the tactic routinely to attack human rights defenders and students.The fate of many victims is still not known.
Proposed amendments to outlaw enforced disappearedance have been stuck in the legislative process since more than two-and-a half years.The current version is not compatible with international human rights law or best practices.
Over the last two decades, hundreds of Pakistani families have suffered incalculable pain from forced disappearance.Families suffer other long-term consequences, including financial and ill health, as well as the pain of losing loved ones.
It’s an inhumane punishment that Pakistani authorities should end.The authorities should immediately inform the families of the victims and free those currently being held about the whereabouts and fate of the enforced disappearance.This will allow them to criminalize it through legislation that is consistent with international human rights laws.
Amnesty International reached out to 10 relatives of abducted Pakistani security personnel.
They all described stress-related issues such as high blood pressure and cardiac conditions.
Financial consequences can also be suffered by affected families, since the disappearances are often the primary breadwinner.
Amnesty International documented three instances in which children who disappeared were forced from school by stigmatization or loss of income.
Sultan Mahmood told Amnesty International his two brother abductions in 2021 and 2014 respectively left him with 2.5 million PKR (about $15,000) of debt.He also had to pay legal fees to try to get the brothers’ return.
Another case involved the sister of Sammi Baloch (a prominent advocate against enforced disappearance), who was stopped from taking exams at the college in Balochistan that was managed by the army.Officials had learned her family history.
Families of people who have been abducted often find themselves in a difficult position.They must decide whether to keep silent or risk the death of their beloved one.The authorities may harass and intimidate them for many years following a disappearance.Sometimes, they even continue to harass them after the person has been returned.
These can include heavy-handed surveillance and threatening calls to blocked numbers, as well as phishing attacks against personal devices.
Amnesty International interviewed many victims of forced disappearance.
Inaam Abbasi was detained for 10 months after his August 2017 abduction.He suffered from a variety of injuries, such as chronic pain in his joints, high blood pressure, and a suspected post-traumatic stress disorder.
These issues can be caused by things like a doorbell being rung.
He told Amnesty, “I believe someone has come to me again.”
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