Pakistan government pressed on missing persons

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- An international rights group pressed Pakistan's new government on Wednesday to quickly investigate the disappearance of hundreds of people allegedly at the hands of its security agencies.

Pakistan Supreme Court judges probing the disappearances were swept from their posts when President Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency rule last year. Musharraf said judges were obstructing counterterrorism efforts.

But the former army chief has lost influence since opponents won February parliamentary elections and formed a government that insists it is committed to improving the country's human rights record.

In a new report released Wednesday, Amnesty International urged the government to immediately reveal the whereabouts of the people who have been reported missing and bring some relief to their families.

It also pressed authorities to restore the purged judges, investigate all the cases and hold to account those responsible, including in Pakistan's feared intelligence services.

Foreign governments, especially the U.S., should ensure they are not "complicit" in disappearances, Amnesty said.

"Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has emphasized the coalition government's commitment to upholding human rights. We urge him to act immediately to resolve" the cases, said Sam Zarifi, the London-based group's Asia-Pacific region director.

Amnesty said it was impossible to provide an accurate number of those it says are being secretly detained. They should be quickly released or at least moved to known detention centers, Zarifi said.

Neither government spokeswoman Sherry Rehman nor Law Minister Farooq Naek, who has reportedly pledged to trace the missing persons and publish the government's findings, were available for comment.

Pakistani rights organizations say some 500 people were held secretly by Pakistani security services. They say many are political activists opposed to the government.

Officials including Musharraf last year acknowledged some of the detentions.

However, they have defended the practice as essential to counter terrorist groups including al-Qaida. They suggested that many others reported missing by their families had joined up with militant organizations.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)