Pakistan acts on forced disappearances, offers financial help to affected families
Pakistan government on Friday decided to provide financial assistance to the families of missing persons as pressure mounted on authorities to address the issue of forced disappearances in the country. The decision was taken in a meeting of the cabinet which discussed reports of two previous committees set up to investigate the issue of missing persons, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said at a press conference.
He said that families of missing persons face several economic problems and the cabinet decided to provide urgent support to them after due diligence. «A special committee will be formed to determine which families need an immediate support package, after which each [eligible] family will receive Rs 5 million,» Tarar said.
«Keep in mind that this is not compensation of any kind, as there is no compensation for a human life,» the law minister clarified, adding that the assistance aimed to help them meet legal and financial challenges.
Tarar said more than 2,000 cases were identified for help but initially 1,000 families would be prioritised on a first come first serve basis whose relatives had been missing for more than five years. He said the prime minister set up a committee to determine the process to provide support.
The minister said that there were multiple reasons for persons reported as missing and pointing fingers at the intelligence agency was not enough to determine the whereabouts of such persons. He said that the intelligence agencies were helping to address the issue.
The issue of missing
