UN working group in Islamabad

Islamabad: A two-member team of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances arrived in Islamabad on Monday at the start of a 10-day visit to Pakistan on the invitation of the government, officials said.

The team will visit all the provincial headquarters to meet political leaders, government officials, civil society organisations and human rights activists.

According to the Pakistani foreign ministry it is neither a fact-finding nor an investigative mission and its primary mandate is to promote communication between families of disappeared persons and the concerned governments to ascertain the whereabouts of the missing whose cases are referred to the group.

Earlier in June this year, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay visited Pakistan. She had detailed discussion with Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and interacted with human rights activists and civil society organisations.

The government of Pakistan has taken a number of steps to address the issue of enforced or involuntary disappearances in the country, said a ministry statement issued ahead of the arrival of the UN team.

The visit of the UN group will provide an opportunity to highlight the efforts being undertaken by the government to address this important issue and to further improve the relevant procedures, it said.

The visit of the UN working group will be followed by the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression later this year on the invitation of the Pakistan government.