Over 6,000 missing person cases disposed of last year

ISLAMABAD: The National Commission for Missing Persons on Tuesday released an annual performance report stating that the commission disposed of 6,117 cases till December 31, 2021.

The report, prepared under the supervision of the incumbent NAB Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal. added that the Commission for Missing Persons received 8,279 cases till November 2021, out of which 102 new cases were received by the National Commission for Missing Persons during December 2021.

The total number of cases related to enforced disappearance has reached 8,381 while the National Commission has disposed of 6,117 cases of missing persons till December 31, 2021.

The current number of missing persons is 2,264.

According to the report, the commission held 563 hearings during December 2021, including 183 hearings in the federal capital Islamabad, 176 in Karachi and 204 in Quetta.

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Another report released by Defence of Human Rights stated that over 500 missing persons have been released in 2021 but more than 1,300 people remain missing across the country.

The report showed that 522 missing persons have been released in the year 2021 but 1,357 people remain missing across the country.

Among the total released, 15 belonged to Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K), eight to Balochistan, 29 to Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 314 to Punjab and 56 to Sindh.

Ironically, none of the 779 missing persons from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) could be recovered in 2021.

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The report shows that 18 people in AJK, 63 in Balochistan, 50 in ICT, 779 in KP and 330 in Punjab are still missing.

Similarly, two each from AJK and Balochistan, five belonging to ICT, 132 to KPK, 73 to Punjab and four missing persons belonging to Sindh have been traced in 2021.

The report further claimed that 78 missing persons have been declared dead and 40 of those people hail from Punjab. Meanwhile, 25 missing persons from KP were declared dead, eight from Sindh, three from ICT and one each from AJK and Balochistan.