Supreme Court Justice Athar Minallah has issued a searing critique of Pakistan’s political establishment, warning that enforced disappearances remain unresolved because the truth has been withheld for more than seven decades. He cautioned that courts are powerless when the state itself is implicated in human rights violations.
Speaking at an event organized by the Defence of Human Rights, Justice Minallah said missing persons cases are “the most difficult” before the judiciary. “If the state is involved in missing persons cases, the courts cannot do anything,” he remarked, adding that those who dare to speak the truth in Pakistan “are hated the most.”
His comments come amid mounting criticism at home and abroad. Rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have long accused Pakistan’s security agencies of carrying out enforced disappearances, particularly in Balochistan and the former tribal regions. The United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances has repeatedly urged Islamabad to investigate and hold perpetrators accountable. Successive governments, however, deny state involvement.
Justice Minallah also renewed calls for an independent judiciary, recalling the 2024 letter by five Islamabad High Court judges to the Supreme Judicial Council that alleged interference by intelligence agencies and members of the executive. Earlier this week, Chief Justice Yahya Afridi’s National Judicial Policy Making Committee ruled that judges must report any external pressure within 24 hours—a move seen as a response to such concerns.
Reflecting on his tenure at the Islamabad High Court, Minallah said his rulings against disappearances initially yielded progress, but enforcement faltered. “I said in the decision that no leniency will be shown to any government officer in missing persons cases,” he noted.
The justice spoke emotionally of Balochistan, where families have staged long protests. “Balochistan’s girls and women are crying on the streets; we should be ashamed,” he said, adding that many victims approached the IHC instead of the Supreme Court because they trusted its independence.
He concluded with a stark reminder: “If we speak the truth, the situation will change. Everyone knows the truth, but not all of us want to know the truth.”
