A parliamentary panel was informed on Thursday that as yet no progress has been made to trace peace activist Raza Mahmood Khan who went missing earlier this month. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Investigation Lahore Police, Sultan Ahmad while briefing the members of the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights said that the law enforcement agencies are making all-out efforts to trace the missing person.
"We have traced his last location but are still making efforts to find him," Sultan Ahmad said to the committee which met under the chairpersonship of Senator Nasreen Jalil to discuss the case of the missing peace activist. Raza Mahmood Khan disappeared on December 3 and was reported missing by his brother two days later. The first information report was registered on December 5, according to Sultan Ahmad.
Senator Nasreen Jalil said that increasing number of people going missing has become a cause of concern and asked the senior official if the manner in which Raza Khan went missing is similar to the way the internet bloggers disappeared. The DIG said, "There are no eyewitnesses. We are trying to obtain footage from private security cameras in different locations to get some clue."
The issue of Raza Mahmood Khan has been raised by members in the past committee meetings several times. While Sultan Raza was reluctant to give out details, the committee did not push him to speak explicitly. PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar quoted the state minister for interior who recently informed the Senate that Raza Mahmood Khan is in the custody of security agencies.
However, Sultan Ahmad responded by saying that he was unaware of such a claim. "We are doing our best to trace the missing person," he said, not fully revealing the progress made in the investigations. The meeting learnt that the missing person is a resident of Gulberg and runs an NGO called Aghaaz-e-Dosti, an initiative for peace in the region particularly with India. The members were also informed that Raza Mahmood Khan was active on social media websites, particularly Facebook.
However, responding to questions, the DIG Investigations, said that all security agencies - Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Federal Investigation Authority (FIA), Military Intelligence (MI) and Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) - as well as Ministry of Interior and IGPs prisons were also approached but they expressed inability to help in this case.
"Raza Khan has been a critic of the state in some of his objectionable posts on Facebook," Sultan Ahmad told the committee. He urged the need for strict laws in place against anti-state sentiments, adding the laws must include safeguards for people to prevent unnecessary persecution. The committee demanded to be kept in the loop on the progress made to find Raza Mahmood Khan.
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