QUETTA: The long-standing and sensitive issue of missing persons in Balochistan has reached a decisive turning point as the provincial government announced a new policy aimed at addressing the matter comprehensively.
The statement issued by the Home Department, families will now be legally required to immediately report cases of missing relatives to the nearest police station, Frontier Corps (FC) outpost, or military unit within seven days.
In this sense, there are certain officials who argue that the move seeks to bring clarity and responsibility to an issue that has been a source of tension for decades.
Furthermore, for years, groups such as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and other banned outfits have allegedly used the narrative of “enforced disappearances” to recruit disillusioned youth and propagate anti-state sentiments.
In this regard, “the new policy aims to close these loopholes once and for all,” a senior official of the provincial administration told reporters. “If a missing individual is later recovered from a militant camp, alive or dead, then accountability will also extend to the household that failed to report the case in time.
Moreover, the announcement comes at a time when authorities are under pressure to balance human rights concerns with the need to curb militancy.
In addition, the civil society organizations have long raised questions about transparency and due process in handling missing persons’ cases.
However, security analysts argue that the absence of a clear reporting mechanism has often enabled militants to exploit the issue for their own agendas.
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The provincial government focused on the fact that the measure is not designed to target ordinary citizens, but to ensure cooperation in eradicating terrorism.
