Karachi, Senator Farhatullah Babar, the President of the Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Human Rights Cell, has strongly condemned the use of force by law enforcement agencies in Islamabad against peaceful demonstrators from Turbat. These demonstrators were protesting to draw attention to the issue of enforced disappearances in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

According to Pakistan People’s Party, Senator Babar expressed his dismay after visiting the dismantled camp in front of the National Press Club in Islamabad on Thursday afternoon. He highlighted the plight of the demonstrators, emphasizing their intention was not to cause a confrontation but to have their voices heard by the authorities and the world. Senator Babar criticized the attempts to silence these voices, noting that the images of state brutality against the protestors have spread in digital spaces.

The senator remarked on the institutionalization of enforced disappearances since 9/11, referencing General Musharraf’s admission in his memoirs of handing over hundreds of people to the CIA. He criticized the Commission of Enforced Disappearance, established in 2010, for its failure to identify or prosecute perpetrators of enforced disappearances, describing this impunity as a threat to the federation’s integrity.

Senator Babar recalled a Supreme Court verdict from December 2013 concerning the disappearance of 35 persons from the Malakand Internment Centre, noting the court’s directive for the government to take action. He drew parallels between the situation in Pakistan and the Chilean model of the 1970s, where disappearances and extrajudicial killings were rampant. He mentioned the case of Chilean dictator Pinochet, who was eventually held accountable under the principle of universal jurisdiction.

Concluding his statement, Senator Babar urged the authorities to address the grievances of the families affected by enforced disappearances. He called for compassion, humanity, and adherence to the rule of law to guide the actions of those in power.