Act now. Become an unsubscriberPakistan: New report demands release of 'war on terror's missing prisoners
Publishing a new 50-page report outlining the cases of numerous people subjected to enforced disappearance - in one case a man has been held for nearly seven years, in another a nine-year-old boy was held - Amnesty also called for Pakistan's judges to be reinstated. In a major national crisis in November 2007, most of Pakistan's key judges were removed from office, including several who had pressured the government and intelligence agencies to reveal the fate of Pakistan's 'disappeared'.
Amnesty's report uses information from court proceedings and affidavits of victims and witnesses of enforced disappearance to reveal a pattern of security or other forces arbitrarily detaining people, blindfolding them, and moving them around numerous detention centres so they become almost impossible to trace.
Pakistan's government, Amnesty's report shows, has been 'denying the undeniable' on this issue. For example President Musharraf has dismissed as 'nonsense' claims that prisoners are held by security forces, saying that 700 were originally held but later released and that missing people 'are in the control of militant organisations' or 'jihadi groups'.However, Amnesty's report backs relatives groups' claims that at least 563 people remain unaccounted and with a new government in office, Amnesty is calling for fresh action on the issue.
Read the report about enforced disappearances in Pakistan (PDF)
