HRCP calls for commission to deal with enforced disappearances

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has called upon the government onFriday to immediately set up an independent commission to deal with the cases ofenforced disappearance in Balochistan, and to aid the release of United NationsHigh Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) official John Solecki.The commission said it had been three weeks since Solecki's abduction, addingthat each passing day increased apprehensions about his safety. It said thegroup responsible for his abduction had issued a list of 867 people, includingover 100 women, who had been arrested without substantial evidence. It saidanother list of 138 women had also been released, which contained the addressesof 76 women with their dates of arrest. The group has demanded the release ofall such people before letting go of Solecki, and regardless of the authenticityof the lists, the situation created due to the arrest of a large number of womenwas far more serious than it had previously been assumed, it added.The commission demanded the government pay due importance to the feelings of thepeople of Balochistan, adding that this should be a top priority even afterSolecki's release.It said the federal government must immediately set up an independent commissionto investigate the cases of missing people in Balochistan, and must enforce therelease of all those currently held under unauthorised detention. It said theindependent commission must be empowered to summon any state employees. "Evenbefore the commission is set up, it is essential that all state agenciesdisgorge anyone held in their custody if they cannot manifest the cause forholding him or her," the commission said in a statement.