Government Announces Rs5 Million Support for Missing Persons’ Families
- Rs5 million support package announced for families of missing persons.
- Federal cabinet approves package and new committee to review cases.
- Government committed to resolving the issue through all available resources.
In a significant move, the government has introduced a Rs5 million support package for each family of missing persons, aimed at providing much-needed legal and financial assistance. This announcement was made by Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar during a press briefing following a federal cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz in Islamabad.
Minister Tarar highlighted that the federal cabinet had thoroughly discussed the issue of missing persons, leading to the approval of this support package. The decision was based on recommendations from previous committees focused on this critical issue. Two reports on missing persons were presented during the meeting, and a special committee has been formed to examine genuine cases needing support after reviewing these reports.
Tarar clarified that the assistance is not intended as remuneration but as a gesture to share the grief of the affected families and help resolve their problems. He emphasized the complexity of the issue, noting that the government has implemented strict measures to address it, with many cases already tackled through the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances (COIED).
The government remains dedicated to resolving all missing persons’ cases by leveraging all available resources, Tarar stated. He also noted that as of last month, only 23% of the cases are still pending, with around 8,000 out of 10,200 cases addressed by the COIED.
Earlier, Information Minister Atta Tarar mentioned that in 2011, the Supreme Court formed an inquiry commission that resolved 7,900 out of 10,023 cases, leaving 23% pending. The latest report from the commission, presented in January, identified Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as having the highest number of cases due to drone attacks and militancy. Balochistan followed, with many cases attributed to people fleeing abroad without informing their families due to the province’s prevailing conditions.
This announcement coincides with the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) calling off their sit-in in Gwadar after successful negotiations with the local administration, marking a significant step towards addressing the grievances of missing persons’ families.
