As many as 500 cases in the country are still pending with the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, said Olivier de Frouville, the head of the United Nations (UN) working group here on Thursday. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad at the end of the visit, members of the working group said that the government had taken steps to tackle the issue of enforced disappearances, but added that "serious challenges remain".
"We note that cases continue to be reported to national authorities, but there are controversies both on figures and on the nature of practice of enforced disappearances," Olivier de Frouville maintained. The UN experts said that, according to sources, there were 14,000 cases of 'missing persons' in Balochistan, but the government claimed there were less than 100 such cases. The UN working group delivered its initial findings on conclusion of its 10-day visit to Pakistan. The group pressed Pakistan government and the judiciary to do more to tackle the problem of thousands of people who have allegedly been detained by law-enforcement and intelligence agencies.
Olivier and another member Osman El-Hajj said they acknowledged the security challenges being faced by Pakistan. The UN experts were of the view that the 1992 Declaration for Protection of All Persons Against Enforced Disappearances could be invoked. Olivier said enforced disappearances had occurred and "still occur" in the country, but added that the group was invited by the Pakistani government. The group hailed the role played by the judiciary, particularly in case of enforced disappearances in Pakistan and to trace missing persons. The experts added that the information gathered during the visit would help in the preparation of the report to be presented to the Human Rights Council at a session in 2013.