2012

Missing Persons Issue

Assignment

A DIV Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR)

Presented By: Muhammad Hassaan (Group B) International Islamic University, Islamabad

16-July-2012

Introduction Missing Persons is the term used to refer to the apparently thousands of people in Pakistan who have been vanished allegedly due to assisting terrorist organizations. It is said that some of them have been handed over to the CIA and to Afghanistan and later shipped off to Guantanamo-Bay. Many of the Missing Persons were associated with the Secular Baloch Nationalist and Sindhi Nationalist Movements. Government, Supreme Courte, Pakistani Media, Foreign Media and so called NGOs and Human Rights Organizations are blaming ISI, FC, Pakistan Army and all other Security Agencies on Missing Persons issue. Pakistani Media is acting like a child and giving favor to the Foreign Media and Agencies propaganda against Pakistans Security Agencies. Despite this, they claim that they are the Fourth Pillar of the State. Current Scenario The prosecution of Missing Persons case by Supreme Court of Pakistan is the most significant issue at this time. In a serious development, Supreme Court of Pakistan; in its interim order; has put the entire responsibility of the lawlessness and Missing Persons on FC and has directed the Intelligence Agencies to produce the missing persons in the court. Supreme Court summoned IGFC Balochistan to appear in front of the court to explain his inability to produce the Missing Persons. The Supreme Court ordered to speed up the recovery of 138 missing persons in the court, which Supreme Court believes are held by Agencies and FC. Meanwhile, according to the Defense Secretary, 93 people are missing and no one is in the custody of ISI or other Agencies. For the security circles, this decision by the Supreme Court was discomforting after the findings of a Judicial Commission, working under the Former Supreme Court Judge, Justice (R) Javed Iqbal, to investigate the Missing Persons issue. The Commissions Report revealed the involvement of Foreign Agencies in unrest in the Balochistan Province and showed proofs of their involvement.

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On Missing Persons case, the facts are significantly opposite to what is being projected by the Media. The number of missing persons in Balochistsan, according to the Commissions Findings, is less than that of the other three Provinces. Opposite to the propaganda, the Commission established that only 460 persons are missing nationwide and according to breakup, concluded by the Commission, 18 missing persons are listed missing from Islamabad, 117 from Punjab, 174 from Sindh, 170 from KPK, 57 from Balochistan and 12 each from Azad Kashmir and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Even without taking the Findings of the Judicial Commission into consideration, the most fundamental question remains that why would Pakistans own Army, FC or any Agency, kidnap the peaceful and patriotic people? Sardari System in Balochistan The tribal structure of Baloch society is the biggest challenge in terms of social and economic uplift of common Balochis. All the major tribes hold centuries old enmity against each other and this social dynamic plays a central role in the abuse of power against other tribes especially when a politician from a certain tribe joins the Provincial or Federal Government. This Feudal Sardari System has literally slowed down the development in many parts of the Province particularly in the restless districts while; the Army is trying desperately for the social uplift of common man through building schools and hospitals. Every Federal Government in the history of Pakistan has used this tribal system for its own political gains. Now few influential Sardars (mainly Bugti, Marri and Mengal) are actively launching a separatist movement on political and diplomatic front. BLA and BLF are working in Balochistan and killing inncocent people. Ethnic target killings, kidnapping, cruelty and threats to Non-Balochs, including Pakhtoon, Punjabi and Kashmiri, are common law and order incidents. The Blame of missing persons that is put on FC might also be linked to the fact that most of the FC personnel are of Pakhtoon ethnicity.

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Alarming aspect of these threatening developments is that their opinions are given massive attention by the International Media and thus the Foreign Powers are exploiting their demands to keep Islamabad under pressure for geostrategic reasons. Missing Persons is one of the problems but it is not the only problem in the Province. A Serious Joke 1. All the people who have kidnapped by the Criminals, Terrorists, Foreign Agencies, XE (Black Water), MQM, ANP, PPP, TTP, BLA, BLF are Missing Persons, but the FC or Agencies are being blamed for that. 2. All the people who have gone from their homes willfully are Missing Persons, but the FC or Agencies are being blamed for that. 3. All the people who have joined terrorists groups without informing their parents and some of them have died as a suicide bomber or went anywhere are Missing Persons, but the FC or Agencies are being blamed for that. 4. In a TV program, a person who was sitting in the Missing Persons Camp in Islamabad said that his son went to Kabul in a flight and was lost in Kabul. Now even the disappearance of this boy is being blamed on ISI by the Media. This is how they lie and spread disinformation. Conclusion No government institution, including Supreme Court knows the exact number of Missing Persons, which leads to a basic question that how the Supreme Court of Pakistan established the exact number of Missing Persons? And a related and equally critical question arises on the criteria of Supreme Court, as well, to declare a particular individual as Missing. The quest to answer these questions, also leads us to analyze the performance and competency of provincial and federal governments of PPP. The issue of Missing Persons would never get resolved by focusing on the apparent developments alone. Supreme Court will have to look beyond the apparent. There are multiple internal and external dynamics that have shaped-up current environment in Balochistan and understanding these aspects would help us to analyze the possible implications of the interim order of the Supreme Court in overall national security perspective.
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The Foreign Agencies as well as Separatists and Insurgents are waging a massive war against Pakistan, Pak Army and the ISI over the issue of Missing Persons. Supreme Court is being deceived by the propagandists to lift the Supreme Court against the Army and the Media would never tell the facts to the nation.

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