No more forced disappearances after Feb 1, vows CM Bugti

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti asserted on Tuesday that there would be no further enforced disappearances by the state or 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 key administrative, legal, social, educational, and developmental matters, 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, particularly 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 Path to Resolution

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

He explained that security forces carried out intelligence-based operations in “gray zones” and suspects were taken into custody. However, he emphasised 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 individual who went into hiding or was abducted by a terrorist organisation. 

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

On the legal front, the chief minister outlined measures to counter forced disappearances under the Balochistan Prevention of Detention and Radicalisation Act (Double One Tetra E), which has been passed along with its Rules 2025. “In specific centres established under this law, suspects would be interrogated under the supervision of authorised police officers, along with counselling, so that extremism, misleading narratives and anti-state thinking could be addressed,” he said.

Bugti added that families of those under investigation would be informed within 24 hours, meetings could be allowed, medical facilities provided, and no person would be shifted out of these centres. “Whichever law enforcement agency has to conduct the investigation will do it in the same centres,” he said.

“The government has the honour of resolving an issue that was politicised for years; now, those who used to play politics on this issue are being buried forever,” CM Bugti stated.

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

Under the new reforms, “faceless” courts have been established where the identity of witnesses will remain 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 Religious Affairs Department, with its employees to be absorbed into other departments. Additionally, 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.