The unending cycle of enforced disappearance
It's appalling that a crime as widespread as enforced disappearance continues to be denied by the government despite the severity of the crime and the well-documented sufferings of families who were separated from their loved ones. On the occasion of the International Day of the Disappeared observed on August 30, many of these families came out and talked of the hardship and uncertainty that they were left to grapple with, and the punishing silence of the authorities concerned. According to Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), as many as 344 people were reportedly "disappeared" between 2014 and July 2019. Forty of them were later found dead, 66 shown arrested in different cases, 35 returned while 203 are still missing. There are two parallel narratives about these incidents: one by the families who often blamed members of law enforcement agencies for picking up the victims, and another by the government which denies its involvement and instead offered vague, sometimes unbelievable reasons for their disappearance.
There is overwhelming evidence disproving the later narrative but the more important thing to consider here is, the responsibility to ensure the safety of the disappeared is ultimately and irrevocably the government's—notwithstanding the circumstances of their disappearance. Unfortunately, not only is the government failing to do so, it hasn't even bothered to come up with credible responses to the allegations raised by the families. This is indicative of a lack of public accountability which has been also demonstrated by the continuation of other forms of extrajudicial crimes, such as cross-fire killings. The government should know that this situation, if left unaddressed, will erode people's faith in its ability and even commitment to keep them out of harm's way. The stories reported in the media in the last few days are quite heart-breaking: children growing up without their father, parents seeking closure after prolonged wait, families falling apart. These people need answers, and urgently so. And the victims deserve justice. We urge the government to take immediate measures to address their plight.
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