The total number of missing persons in Pakistan is 95 only and there is no truth in claims that it is exceeds 6,000, Interior Minister Senator Rehman Malik said on Tuesday. Talking to reporters after a meeting with the visiting UN working group on enforced disappearances, he said that Pakistan was a sovereign state and all its internal issues, including missing persons, could be resolved by the government itself.
"There is law of the land and our institutions are efficient enough to conduct any sort of investigation. There is a proper system for filing FIRs," he said. Malik said that he had briefed the UN group about the exact number of missing persons and people abducted by various banned organisations.
He also said that some missing persons, whose names had been included in the list without registration of any FIR, was enough to make it appear that it "is a fake list". Malik said that the Interior Ministry was also reviewing security arrangements for Muharram, adding that fool-proof security arrangements would be made to avoid any untoward incident during the holy month. He, however, refused to comment on the arrest of Mehmmod Akhtar Naqvi, who filed a petition against him for holding dual nationality, saying the matter "is sub judice".