ISLAMABAD: Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has stated that the prime minister and his cabinet bear responsibility for any individual who becomes “missing” amid the ongoing scrutiny around the problem of missing individuals and forced disappearances.
In an order issued on Friday in a case involving the disappearance of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Dr. Shahbaz Gill’s brother Ghulam Shabbir, Justice Aurangzeb stated that “the personages at the helm of affairs in the government, which under our Constitution are the prime minister and the [federal] cabinet.”
A number of societal groups and human rights organizations have voiced concerns about the issue of enforced disappearances and missing persons, bringing it into the public eye.The current administration made an announcement a day earlier about a package of Rs. 5 million for every family as part of its attempts to give the heirs of missing people financial and legal support.
Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar briefed the media on the decisions made at the federal cabinet meeting, which was presided over by Prime Minister Shehbaz. He disclosed that after reviewing the committees’ final reports, the cabinet also approved the creation of a special committee to look into legitimate cases of families in need of assistance.
