Sept 8, 2024
By Anwer Anjum
SWAT:
In the 2009 Swat military operation, while thousands were displaced and endured the loss of life and property, many families faced an even more painful reality of enforced disappearances. One of the most heart-wrenching cases is that of 70-year-old Nusre Baba from Ali Grama in Swat’s Kabal Tehsil. He presently resides in Kanju Township in Swat.
Displaced by the Swat operation, Baba and his family sought refuge in a school in Peshawar. However, during this period, five members of his family, including his two sons, were forcibly taken by unidentified individuals.
“I’ve spent the last 16 years searching for my children, going from door to door,” he recounts in an interview with Voicepk.net. “I know they were arrested in Peshawar and transferred to the Swat jail, but no one tells me their whereabouts.”
The missing family members include his sons — 22-year-old Hazrat Hussain and 26-year-old Iqbal Hussain — his two-year-old nephew Shah Zareen, and two relatives, 35-year-old Sardar and 45-year-old Jahanzeb.
Baba’s adds that his sons were taken in 2012 from Chamkani High School in Peshawar. They were held there for two days before SP Qazi Farooq transferred them to Swat jail through officer Akbar Ali. However, Ali has refused to disclose their current location.
Reflecting on his frustrations, Baba says, “The missing persons commission keeps giving us dates with no results. We tried to demonstrate at the D-Chowk in Islamabad for three months, but we got tired. Now, I just want my children back. Even after all this cruelty, I’m still appealing to the government for justice.”
Peshawar High Court lawyer Zagar Sher tells Voicepk.net, “The constitution of Pakistan guarantees that no one can be deprived of their liberty without due process. A law passed in 2021 criminalised enforced disappearances. If someone is guilty, they should face trial in court, not disappear.”
According to Sher, over 10,000 people were reported missing in Pakistan by the end of 2023, with many linked to enforced disappearances.