|
The human rights organisation, Amnesty
International, has called on Pakistan's new government to
provide information about hundreds of disappeared people.
Most are said to be held by the country's security
agencies.
The call was made in a detailed report about the detainees
released by Amnesty, which is one of several groups fighting
for their release.
The government has denied any involvement, claiming those
missing have been kidnapped by jihadist groups.
Headlines
The detailed report by Amnesty International calls on the
Pakistani government to release the detainees, or to transfer
them to official prisons.
The 50-page document gives details of some of the 563
detainees who Amnesty say are still being held by the
government.
These include the cases of Masood Janjua and Imran Munir
which have made headlines in Pakistani newspapers.
Dr Munir was finally discovered and released after the
intervention of the country's supreme court.
He is currently in hospital because of injuries sustained
from torture during his detention.
Mr Janjua, however, is still to be found after more than
three years in detention.
His wife, Amina Janjua, has since started an organisation
to fight for the rights of missing people.
Meanwhile, Amnesty says the Pakistani government continues
to deny the undeniable.
They quote President Pervez Musharraf who has dismissed
their claims as nonsense.
According to him, the "missing people" are under the
control of militant organisations.
But when Pakistan's higher judiciary started to exercise
its power and secure the release of a number of missing
people, the judges behind the move were sacked by President
Musharraf in late 2007.
He said they were interfering in executive matters.
Amnesty International has now called on Pakistan's new
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to act immediately to
resolve all cases of enforced disappearance. |
