Law minister says new committee to be formed to investigate missing persons cases

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar on Saturday said that a new committee was being formed to investigate the issue of missing persons in the country.

Addressing the 6th Asma Jahangir Conference in Lahore, the law minister said that while the number of missing persons had reduced over the years, a lower number was still not satisfactory. He said that another committee was now being formed to look into the issue of missing persons in more detail.

Speaking on past data on missing persons, Tarar said, “The recorded number … was nearly 10,000 citizens. A commission was formed on this, committees were made … parliament played a role; over the years, this number has reduced. It’s now reportedly 2600-something. But I understand that in terms of human rights, this number should be zero.”

He added that in the past, as a stopgap arrangement, the federal government had introduced a relief package for the families affected.

He clarified that “this package did not mean the case would be closed; that was to mitigate the miseries of the family”.

According to the minister, the package contained not only financial support but a “mechanism to solve all the legal complications” of the disappearances, including allowing the victims’ bank accounts to be operated and sorting out issues of distribution of inheritance.

“After working for about a year and a half, we gave this policy package, and now we are going to implement it. So, alongside it, we are making another committee that will look at these issues in more detail.”

Tarar also said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif himself was “very concerned” over the issue.

He added that in some cases, those who died in terrorist attacks and encounters were found to include individuals listed as missing persons.

“We cannot rule out that those who voluntarily disappeared and joined banned groups are also part of that list,” he said. “Having said so, we are working with full seriousness on the issue, and we will keep updating you.”

The law minister further shared “good news”, saying that the government’s ‘long-awaited desire’ to establish an independent commission for minorities had been legislated.

“This process has started. It will come to parliament,” he said.

The law minister added that cases of blasphemy via the use of social media platforms were “a point of concern for all of us”.

“The government took it very seriously,” he said. “We worked on it: we made monitoring tighter.”

He highlighted the sharp reduction in the number of blasphemy cases in 2025 compared to previous years, saying, “2025 has been a sigh of relief”.

According to the minister, only 34 cases were reported over the last year, as compared to “180 and 200 cases a year” in previous years. He expressed his hope for further improvement in this regard.