Pakistan: Family members of missing persons protest in Swat

Families of the missing persons on Monday protested in front of Swat Press Club and chanted slogans. They were asking the authorities to let them know about their whereabouts.

They demanded early recovery of their loved ones and asked that they should be allowed to visit their loved ones languishing in jails, reported Dawn.

Holding photos of their missing relatives, the protesters chanted slogans.

The protesters, including Syed Karimullah, Syed Rahim, Shahid Ali Khan, Nasir, Aminuddin and Mohammad Ihsan, said their five loved ones, who had been missing for the last 10 years, should be produced in courts, reported Dawn.

The protesters said they were in agony as they did not know whether their loved ones were alive or dead, and appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, the army chief and the Prime Minister to help in tracing the whereabouts of the missing persons.

They said the families of the missing persons were living a very hard life since they had gone missing, reported Dawn.

The protesters alleged that many other people were still in the custody of security forces even after serving their jail terms.

"Families, especially women and children, of the missing persons have no one to take care of them," a protester bemoaned, saying they were dependent upon their neighbours and relatives for food and medical treatment.

Meanwhile, the Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari said earlier in the Senate that it seems that the bill on missing persons has been lost while emphasizing that the issue of missing persons in Pakistan is important.

She said the government prepared the bill on the missing persons, which was passed by the National Assembly and sent to the Senate.

"It is not known why the bill is not being introduced in the Senate. Chairman, I have spoken to you today as well. Why is the bill not being introduced? The issue of missing persons is intolerable in a democratic system," she said addressing the Senate chairman, The News International reported.

( With inputs from ANI )

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