Amna Masood Janjua, chairperson of the Defence of Human Rights, warned that removing cases from the record will not erase the reality of forced disappearances in Pakistan. Speaking at a press conference at the National Press Club Islamabad alongside Tahira Abdullah and Iman Mazari, she said affected families are being denied justice as the state appears to shift policy.
The Missing Persons Commission has, according to DHR, closed 770 complaints in the last ten months without delivering remedies to victims or their relatives. DHR said this pattern of dismissal does not address the root problem and that the commission has failed to meet its objectives since being set up after sustained legal and civil society pressure in 2010 and 2011.
DHR highlighted its two decades of advocacy against forced disappearances and noted that over 750 cases filed in the Supreme Court were instrumental in forcing the state to acknowledge that forced disappearances are a reality in Pakistan. The organisation argues that commissions are meant to provide redress, not to quietly remove cases from public record.
Expressing strong condemnation of the recent policy shift, DHR demanded that the Missing Persons Commission immediately reopen all closed files and resume hearings so victims can seek accountability. The organisation warned that attempts to dismiss cases en masse will not silence the hundreds of affected families whose lives remain unsettled.
International bodies including the United Nations and Amnesty International have taken note of the case removals and expressed concern. DHR urged the government to reverse the commission’s deletions and to work with civil society and legal experts to establish a more effective framework that ensures truth and justice for disappearances.
Amna Masood Janjua said DHR will continue its legal and advocacy efforts while calling on authorities to respect the rights of victims and to restore faith in the mechanisms intended to address forced disappearances.
