The government on Friday announced a support package for the families of missing persons in the country.

Addressing a presser in Islamabad, Federal Minister for Law and Justice of Pakistan Azam Nazeer Tarar said the government would provide Rs5 million support package to each family of those who have been missing for more than 5 years.

He said a special committee would be constituted to examine “genuine cases”, where the families need immediate help.

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“It should be noted that it’s not any kind of compensation against someone missing,” the law minister stressed, adding that the government had introduced the package just to help the families in need.

“Since the state is the mother of its people. There come some responsibilities of the state to take care of its people.”

Apart from relief, the government would also take adequate legislative measures to solve the issue of missing persons effectively.

He informed that around 2,000 cases related to missing persons have been identified through a legal mechanism system.

“Firstly, 1,000 cases will be prioritised for the support package on the basis of first come, first served.

“Also, there is a limit of 5 years beyond for a case to become eligible for the package,” Tarar said.

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The government would provide both legal and financial assistance to the families of missing persons, he informed.

The law minister apprised that the intelligence agencies would also extend positive cooperation to solve these cases.