Tariq Khan Tareen
Amnesty International, once regarded as a neutral defender of human rights, has reduced itself to a one-sided narrator when it comes to Pakistan. Its endless focus on “missing persons” comes at the cost of ignoring the sacrifices of 240 million people who have endured decades of terrorism. Amnesty conveniently sidelines the reality that Pakistan has lost over 94,000 lives—teachers, students, laborers, civilians, army personnel, and law enforcement officers—to militant violence. Economically, the country has suffered losses exceeding $150 billion as a frontline ally in the war on terror. Yet, Amnesty remains silent on Pakistan’s dignified and costly commitment to eliminate terrorism.
Instead of acknowledging Pakistan’s dossiers submitted to the United Nations detailing India’s serial involvement in sponsoring terrorism in Balochistan through Fitnat-ul-Hindustan (BLA, BLF, BRAS, BRA) and in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through Fitna-tul-Khawarij (TTP), Amnesty continues to champion the agenda of “disappeared persons.” It remains blind to the reality of Indian proxies like the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), which whitewashes militants as victims. Does Amnesty even know who Kulbhushan Jadhav, Gulzar Imam Shambay, or Molvi Mansoor are? Does it acknowledge that the BLA’s Majid Brigade has been declared a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity by the United States, United Kingdom, China, Iran, and endorsed by the United Nations? Amnesty’s selective vision seems to stop short when terrorism carries the fingerprints of India and its proxies.
The so-called “missing persons” repeatedly cited by Amnesty International are, in most cases, self-proclaimed victims whose names later emerge in militant rosters. Noor Zaman Baloch and Nadeem, killed during the Jaffer Express attack, were listed by BYC as “disappeared.” Hamal Fateh Baloch, who attacked the Gwadar Pearl Continental Hotel, and Karim Jan Baloch, admitted by his own family to be part of militant outfits, were also paraded as innocent victims. Jehanzeb Mengal, alias Balach, remained active in insurgency for two years in Noshki before being neutralized in March 2024, yet he too was falsely labeled a missing person.
In August 2024, Tayyab Baloch alias Lala was killed in the Lasbela operation, but BYC and Mamma Qadeer shamelessly presented him as “forcibly disappeared.” Similarly, Kamran Baloch, once claimed abducted from Mashkay, was later openly declared a fighter by the BLF. Eid Muhammad alias Shikari, a senior commander, and Engineer Zaheer Baloch, reported killed in a “fake encounter,” were later exposed as militants. Zaheer himself resurfaced in Iran months later, unmasking the lie. Abdul Malik Baloch, killed in an internal militant feud, and Abdul Wadood Satakzai, trained in militant camps, were also listed as innocents. The contradictions are systematic, not coincidental.
Even more compelling are the arrests and confessions. Kulbhushan Jadhav a serving Indian Naval Officer, Gulzar Imam Shambay, Sarfraz Bangulzai, Najeebullah, and Abdul Rasheed all admitted how the propaganda machine exploits “missing person” narratives to mask terrorist affiliations and foreign funding. In light of such evidence, Amnesty’s insistence on portraying these individuals as victims is not just flawed—it is dangerously misleading.
Despite these challenges, Pakistan has taken the missing persons issue seriously. The Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances (COIED) has investigated 10,618 cases since March 2011, of which 8,873—83.56%—have been resolved as of August 2025. Contrast this with India, where according to the World Population Review, an estimated 88 persons go missing every hour—that’s 2,130 a day and 64,851 a month. Yet Amnesty never musters the moral courage to highlight these staggering numbers. Pakistan, by comparison, is vilified for a fraction of that figure spread over more than a decade. If Amnesty International is truly concerned about human rights, why does it remain silent on UNFPA’s report that India accounted for 45.8 million missing females as of 2020, yet it spares no effort in targeting Pakistan with half-truths and biased narratives
This hypocrisy exposes Amnesty’s bias. Its silence on Indian abuses and blind allegiance to the propaganda of proxies like BYC tarnishes its credibility as a human rights body. Pakistan’s reality is stark: it faces enemies that thrive on terrorism, funded and fueled by India, yet it is painted as the villain for defending its people.
Amnesty’s narrative of victimhood sells well in the international arena, but it is a half-truth that hides undeniable realities. What teachers, students, laborers, and activists mentioned by Amnesty had in common was not innocence but ties to terrorist networks. Many of these so-called victims were part of groups responsible for suicide bombings, massacres, and bloodshed.
Pakistan is at war with terrorism; those who aid militants cannot be painted as “innocent victims.” Families may grieve, but justice requires accountability for those who conspire with enemies of the state. Amnesty champions the cause of “disappeared persons” while ignoring the lives lost to terror. Enforced disappearances are not a policy of repression but a counter-terrorism necessity in a nation that has sacrificed 94,000 lives. By twisting half-truths, Amnesty gives terrorists a cloak of innocence while maligning Pakistan.
Amnesty International has failed to rise above selective outrage. By ignoring Pakistan’s sacrifices, overlooking irrefutable evidence, and staying silent on India’s proxy war, it betrays its mandate. Pakistan does not deny that enforced disappearances must be addressed, but it refuses to let terrorists be romanticized as victims. Until Amnesty confronts the other side of the story—the reality of blood-soaked militancy—it will remain complicit in distorting the truth and undermining global efforts against terrorism.
