Missing persons' lawyer Col (r) Rahim abducted by unidentified men in Rawalpindi: son

Advocate Colonel (retired) Inamur Rahim, who has fought court cases on behalf of the families of several missing persons, was on Monday abducted from his home in Rawalpindi by unidentified men.

Colonel (r) Rahim, according to his son Husnain Inam, was picked up form his home in the Askari 14 housing scheme of the garrison city.

Husnain said that around eight to 10 persons picked up his father from their house late on Monday. "They gained entry into our house by claiming to be my friend at the door; at that, my mother opened the door," he said.

"These people were armed, they forcibly entered the bedroom of my parents, and woke up my father before taking him along with them," Husnain said.

According to the son, his father was whisked away in a car with black mirrors, while another vehicle with black mirrors followed behind. "The incident occurred around midnight late on Monday," he added.

In its monthly progress report for May 2019, the state’s Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances (CIED) had reported that 6,051 cases had been registered before the CIED since March 2011. 

Out of these, 3,793 cases had been “disposed”, while 2,258 cases were still pending. Significantly, out of the 3,793 cases “disposed” by the CIED, 743 “missing people” were traced in internment centers.

Some 468 people were located in prisons; and 189 people were found dead. The Commission provided no information on steps taken to establish the circumstances behind these detentions or deaths. 

In a statement made in June this year, Director General Inter Services Public Relations, Major General Asif Ghafoor, had said that he met chairperson of the Defence of Human Rights, Amina Masood Janjua, to discuss the issue of missing persons.

"Our hearts go with the families of missing persons being Pakistanis. However, we must realise that not every person missing is attributable to the state," Major General Ghafoor had said.