Had the Islamabad High Court’s orders been followed at least 8,000 missing people would have been standing in it today. But that was not the case on Thursday, June 17, today, which was the deadline it had set the government to produce them.

Instead the government produced a piece of paper: a notification about the committee the Federal Cabinet had formed on missing persons. The federal government formed the seven-member committee to deliberate over a policy for abductions and torture after the Islamabad High Court had directed it to produce the missing people by June 17.

The government has failed to implement the court order in principle, the court said. Now the Home Ministry has to ensure implementation of the May 25 order, it said and adjourned the case till July 4.

According to the notification issued by the Ministry of Interior, the committee will be headed by Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar. Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Shazia Marri, Minister for Communications Asad Mahmood, Minister for Defence Production Israr Tareen, Minister for Maritime Affairs Faisal Subzwari, and Minister for Science and Technology Agha Hassan Baloch are on it.

On January 18, Islamabad Chief Justice Athar Minallah had said that the people involved in enforced disappearances could not have acted without the consent of the federal government.

He gave these remarks during the hearing of missing bloggers and journalists’ case.