Pakistan: Confirmation from the MQM Secretariat in Middlesex, UK, that their 1997 publication entitled Dead or Alive: A Catalogue of "Disappearance" of 15 Mohajirs Aged Between 18 and 50 Years, from the State Custody in Pakistan is an exhaustive list
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 December 1997 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | PAK28375.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Pakistan: Confirmation from the MQM Secretariat in Middlesex, UK, that their 1997 publication entitled Dead or Alive: A Catalogue of "Disappearance" of 15 Mohajirs Aged Between 18 and 50 Years, from the State Custody in Pakistan is an exhaustive list, 1 December 1997, PAK28375.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab3340.html [accessed 3 November 2019] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Confirmation from the MQM Secretariat in Middlesex, UK, that their 1997 publication entitled Dead or Alive: A Catalogue of "Disappearance" of 15 Mohajirs Aged Between 18 and 50 Years, from the State Custody in Pakistan is an exhaustive list could not be obtained by the Research Directorate.
However, the following information may be of interest.
According to The Daily News and the Karachi daily Dawn, a six-member Senate sub-committee was formed to locate the whereabouts of 28 MQM workers who disappeared from several Karachi police stations and have been missing since 1995 (The Daily News 19 Nov. 1997; Dawn 18 Dec. 1997; ibid. 20 Aug. 1997; ibid. 4 June 1997). The sub-committee has examined the records of several Karachi police stations, including those in Khwaga Ajmeri Nagri, Orangi, Nazimabad and Mehmoodabad, from which these 28 MQM workers had disappeared (ibid. 18 Dec. 1997). The station diaries, which "detail the flow of visitors to a particular police station," were also examined (ibid.).
The 19 November 1997 Daily News attachment states that "police has no proper records of the whereabouts of so many people who were actually arrested by them on various charges...," and adds that "unfortunately, the police has not yet overcome the tendency to detain people without entering the fact [in] the officials record."
On 13 September 1997, Dawn reported that Abdul Khaliq and Muhammad Asghar, two of the missing 28 MQM workers, had been located by the senate sub-committee (13 Sept. 1997). Khaliq had been arrested on 27 June 1997 and was in jail, while Asgar had been arrested on 21 February 1996 and had been released on bail (ibid.). However, according to the 19 November 1997 Daily News attachment, although the sub-committee held meetings with police officials, examined police records and spoke with witnesses, it "failed to find any trace of the missing persons or reach any other conclusions."
Please consult the Dawn attachments for additional information on the work of the Senate sub-committee vis-à-vis its attempts to locate the missing 28 MQM workers.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
The Daily News. 19 November 1997. "The Case of MQM's Missing Workers." [Internet e-mail]
Dawn [Karachi]. 18 December 1997. "Karachi: Senate Probe Body Examines Record of Police Stations." [Internet] [Accessed 18 Dec. 1997]
_____. 13 September 1997. "Senate Committee Locates Two of MQM Missing Men." [Internet] [Accessed 23 Dec. 1997]
_____. 20 August 1997. "Checking of Police Record of Missing MQM Workers." [Internet] [Accessed 23 Dec. 1997]
_____. 4 June 1997. "Karachi: Police Officers to be Called Before Committee: MQM." [Internet] [Accessed 23 Dec. 1997]
Attachments
The Daily News. 19 November 1997. "The Case of MQM's Missing Workers." [Internet e-mail]
Dawn [Karachi]. 18 December 1997. "Karachi: Senate Probe Body Examines Record of Police Stations." [Internet] [Accessed 18 Dec. 1997]
_____. 13 September 1997. "Senate Committee Locates Two of MQM Missing Men." [Internet] [Accessed 23 Dec. 1997]
_____. 21 August 1997. "Missing MQM Men: Senate Body Summons 14 SHOs." [Internet] [Accessed 23 Dec. 1997]
_____. 20 August 1997. "Checking of Police Record of Missing MQM Workers." [Internet] [Accessed 23 Dec. 1997]
_____. 4 June 1997. "Karachi: Police Officers to be Called Before Committee: MQM." [Internet] [Accessed 23 Dec. 1997]
Additional Sources Consulted
Amnesty International. Pakistan: Time to Take Human Rights Seriously.
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State. 30 January 1997. Pakistan Report on Human Rights Practices for 1996. (WWW)
United Nations, Economic and Social Council, Commission on Human Rights. December 1996. Question of the Human Rights of all Persons Subjected to any Form of Detention or Imprisonment: Question of Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances: Report of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.
Electronic sources: Internet, World News Connection (WNC).
