No more enforced disappearances after February 1, promises CM Bugti

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti claimed on Tuesday that there would be no further enforced disappearances by the state or the government after February 1.

The Chief Minister made the remarks while presiding over the 22nd meeting of the Provincial Cabinet at the Chief Minister Secretariat in Quetta. The session took up several important administrative, legal, social, educational and developmental issues, including the issue of missing persons.

The issue of missing persons has become one of the most sensitive and complex human rights challenges in Pakistan, especially in Balochistan. For many, it represents not only a legal and political crisis, but also a deeply personal one.

Unraveling the Missing Persons Crisis: Realities, Misconceptions, and the Road to Resolution

Urging the need for a permanent solution, CM Bugti alleged that some elements and parties had “politicised” the issue as a “systematic propaganda tool” against Pakistan, but no serious effort had been made to resolve it legally.

He explained that security forces were conducting intelligence-based operations in “grey areas” and suspects were being taken into custody. However, he stressed that “the issue of missing persons will end after February 1 and a legal framework will be in place in this regard.”

The chief minister added, “We have buried this issue forever, which will put an end to the allegations of enforced disappearances against the state of Pakistan and the negative propaganda on this basis.”

However, he clarified that the state would not be responsible for any person who went into hiding or was abducted by a terrorist organization.

CM Bugti further stressed that courts and relevant commissions were available to investigate allegations of disappearance, but “unfortunately, in Balochistan, propaganda against the state starts immediately by creating the impression of self-imposed disappearance.”

On the legal front, the chief minister outlined measures to counter enforced disappearances under the Balochistan Prevention of Detention and Radicalization Act (Double One Tetra E), which has been passed along with its Rules 2025. “In specific centers established under this Act, suspects would be interrogated under the supervision of authorized police officers, along with extremism, delusional thinking and anti-static thinking. could be addressed,” he said.

Bugti added that families of those investigated would be informed within 24 hours, meetings could be allowed, medical facilities would be made available and no person would be moved out of these centers. “Whichever law enforcement agency is going to do the investigation will do it in the same centers,” he said.

“Government has the credit of resolving an issue that has been politicized for years; now those who used to play politics on this issue are buried forever,” said CM Bugti.

During the meeting, the provincial cabinet approved the Balochistan Witness Protection Amendment Bill 2025. Bugti noted that the lack of an effective witness protection system previously meant a conviction rate of only one to two percent in terrorism and serious crime cases.

Under the new reforms, “faceless” courts have been created, where the identity of witnesses remains confidential to everyone except the judge. He said this is expected to increase the conviction rate by 50 to 60%.

The Cabinet also approved the abolition of the Department of Religious Affairs, with its employees to be absorbed into other departments. In addition, two new divisions – Pishin and Koh-e-Sulaiman – were created, with Ziarat now administratively part of Loralai. The Municipal Committee of Karbala was also established in Pishin District.