Islamabad
\nFederal Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Zaidi apologised on Sunday after receiving backlash from political parties as well as members of civil society over his remarks directed at PML-N leadership that ended up indirectly mocking the sufferings of the families of missing persons.
\nAhead of PTI\u2019s Islamabad rally, the minister posted on Twitter a picture of PML-N leaders Hamza Shahbaz and Maryam Nawaz \u2014 the latter of whom was holding a photo frame of her father Nawaz Sharif. The caption accompanying the picture posted by Zaidi read: \u201cFamily of missing persons on the streets again.\u201d
\nZaidi\u2019s tweet immediately received criticism as people, including some from his own party, called him out for hurting the sentiments of the families whose loved ones have become victims of forced disappearances.
\nLawyer and activist Jibran Nasir said that the grief of the families of missing persons was \u201cno joke\u201d.
\n\u201cIt is an insult to mothers, wives, sisters and daughters who for years dared to ask questions from the state by carrying the pictures of their missing loved ones,\u201d he said, adding that those who make fun of the oppressed will one day become jokes themselves.
\nReema Omer, another lawyer, quoted the Islamabad High Court in response to Zaidi\u2019s remarks. \u201cA person going missing is a crime against humanity. The prime minister and members of the cabinet are there to serve the people of the country. The State\u2019s response towards recovering missing persons is pathetic.\u201d
\nNobel laureate Malala Yousafzai\u2019s father Ziauddin said that only people of \u201cmissing conscience will make jokes of the families of the missing persons\u201d.
\nHuman Rights Minister Shireen Mazari, who is from Zaidi\u2019s own party, tweeted that the issue of missing persons was \u201cnot an issue for humour at all\u201d. She said that missing persons was a serious and heart-wrenching issue in Pakistan.
\nPM Imran Khan has always opposed enforced disappearances, she said, adding that this was one of the reasons she stands with Imran Khan. \u201cOur government\u2019s bill to criminalise enforced disappearances is in the last stage of approval – from Senate.\u201d
\nFollowing the barrage of criticism, Zaidi tweeted an apology.
\n\u201c[I] apologize if this post hurt anyone suffering on forced disappearances,\u201d he tweeted. \u201cNo illegal detention happened under [the] PTI regime. In fact, I personally helped recover 100+ who went missing under previous governments.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Zaidi apologised on Sunday after receiving backlash from political parties as well as members of civil society over his remarks directed at PML-N leadership that ended up indirectly mocking the sufferings of the families of missing persons. Ahead of PTI\u2019s Islamabad rally, the minister posted on Twitter a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":130885,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[86,5381,5380,1149],"class_list":{"0":"post-251697","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national","8":"tag-ali-zaidi","9":"tag-apologises","10":"tag-hurting-sentiments","11":"tag-missing-persons"},"yoast_head":"\n