RxPG News XML Feed for RxPG News   Add RxPG News Headlines to My Yahoo!  

Medical Research Health Special Topics World
 
  Home
 
 Careers 
 Dental
 Medical
 Nursing
 
 Latest Research 
 Aging
 Anaethesia
 Biochemistry
 Biotechnology
 Cancer
 Cardiology
 Clinical Trials
 Cytology
 Dental
 Dermatology
 Embryology
 Endocrinology
 ENT
 Environment
 Gastroenterology
 Genetics
 Gynaecology
 Haematology
 Immunology
 Infectious Diseases
 Metabolism
 Microbiology
 Musculoskeletal
 Nephrology
 Neurosciences
 Obstetrics
 Ophthalmology
 Orthopedics
 Paediatrics
 Pathology
 Pharmacology
 Physiology
 Psychiatry
 Public Health
 Radiology
 Rheumatology
 Surgery
 Urology
 Alternative Medicine
 Medicine
 Epidemiology
 Sports Medicine
 Toxicology
 
 Medical News 
 Awards & Prizes
 Epidemics
 Health
 Healthcare
 Launch
 Opinion
 Professionals
 
 Special Topics 
 Ethics
 Euthanasia
 Evolution
 Feature
 Odd Medical News
 Climate
 
 DocIndia 
 Reservation Issue
 Overseas Indian Doctor

Last Updated: May 19, 2007 - 1:28:39 PM
News Report
Pakistan Channel

subscribe to Pakistan newsletter
Pakistan

   EMAIL   |   PRINT
Pakistan rights body decries government claim on 'missing'
Apr 8, 2007 - 4:00:55 PM
She said there were very clear cases in Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh where law enforcement agencies arrested the missing people in front of several witnesses.

Article options
 Email to a Friend
 Printer friendly version
 Pakistan channel RSS
 More Pakistan news
[RxPG] Lahore, April 8 - The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan - has refuted the government's claim that more than 150 people termed 'missing' or 'disappeared' were jihadis who had gone on their own to fight for Al Qaeda or other Islamist militant organisations.

Almost all the missing were 'nationalists', who were against militant organisations, HRPC chairperson Asma Jahangir said Saturday.

President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz have on different occasions denied that the missing people were in the illegal custody of various intelligence agencies. They have claimed that most of the missing people were either criminals who had violated the law or had joined Islamist militancy on their own.

Jahangir demanded that the Supreme Court, that is hearing various petitions, should set up an independent judicial commission to probe the matter and question the people related to the cases.

The issue of missing persons has caught public attention after Masuda Janjua, the wife of one such person, led protest demonstrations and filed a petition before the apex court listing 199 missing cases. Then Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry criticised the government and directed a probe into the cases and gathering of information about them.

Another missing person's wife got past Musharraf's security at a recent rally, fell at his feet and submitted a written petition. The president denied that the intelligence agencies had any role in the detention but promised to look into the matter.

More than 168 people have 'disappeared' since 2004 'according to authentic information', Jahangir said, and only 20 of them had been found so far.

HRCP asked the federal government to trace more than 150 people who went missing in the last three years, adding that the 'disappearing' citizens were not jihadis as the government maintained, but 'victims of intelligence agencies'.

The commission criticised the interior minister for his statement that only 10 of the missing people had been found so far because the government could not trace the addresses of the rest.

It asked the Supreme Court to announce a judicial commission to probe into the matter, collect solid evidence and record statements of the victims' families.

The HRCP was updating its information continuously on such people, Jahangir said, adding that 24 people had disappeared in 2007 so far.

She said the interior ministry was 'negligent' for not being able to find information about all the missing people. 'We even have the names of law enforcement and intelligence personnel who arrested the victims before they disappeared,' she said.

The information minister should step down if he was not efficient enough to trace the missing people, Jahangir said.

She said there were very clear cases in Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh where law enforcement agencies arrested the missing people in front of several witnesses.

Apart from the Supreme Court's suo moto notice of the issue and several other petitions, the HRCP has also filed a constitutional petition in the SC on the 'disappearances' calling it 'a blatant violation of the constitution'. A hearing of the case is scheduled on April 10.





Related Pakistan News
31 killed as windstorm, heavy rains lash Pakistan
Pakistan court raises level of probe into official's murder
Religious students take four policemen hostage in Islamabad
Pakistan tourism minister Bakhtiar reportedly resigns
Pakistan's 'most wanted' Saud Memon dies
Pakistan Bishop slams Taliban threats to Christians
India, Pakistan discuss Sir Creek, maritime boundary
Musharraf admits Al Qaeda presence in Pakistan
Musharraf losing grip on power: study
Pakistan, India hold talks on Sir Creek

Subscribe to Pakistan Newsletter
E-mail Address:

 Feedback
For any corrections of factual information, to contact the editors or to send any medical news or health news press releases, use feedback form

Top of Page

 
© All rights reserved 2004 onwards by RxPG Medical Solutions Private Limited
Contact Us