Footprints of those forcibly disappeared in South Asia
Across South Asia, a chilling reality persists: countless men, women and children, spanning generations, have been subjected to enforced disappearance. Their fates sealed by the very institutions entrusted with their protection. Among the disappeared are journalists, activists, dissenters, and minority voices—individuals whose voices challenge authority and advocate for justice.
Enforced disappearance is a crime under international law and an insidious practice that not only persists as a relic of past conflicts but also still looms large as a contemporary instrument of oppression used by the states across the world as a tool to silence dissent and instill fear.
I keep all of Masood’s clothes, I can smell him in the clothes.
Amina Masood Janjua, wife of Pakistani businessman Masood Janjua
“I keep all of Masood’s clothes, I can smell him in the clothes. For years after his disappearance, every Eid, I used to buy him new clothes. I don’t lock doors since he was forcibly taken from us. If he comes back even in the middle of the night, he doesn’t have to wait outside” – Amina Masood Janjua, wife of Pakistani businessman Masood Janjua who was forcibly disappeared on 30 July 2005.
A person is forcibly disappeared when they have been apprehended by the authorities or their agents, or people acting with their authorization or acquiescence, but the authorities refuse to acknowledge this or conceal the person’s fate or whereabouts, placing them outside the protection of the law (art 2, International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, ICPPED) hence at risk of torture or extrajudicial execution. Sometimes, disappearance may also be committed by armed non-state actors, like armed opposition groups (art 3, ICPPED).
“We think of you every day. We fight for you ever day. The youngest is waiting for you to come home, to tell you that he loves you.
Sandya Eknaligoda, wife of disappeared Sri Lankan journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda
South Asia has a long history of enforced disappearances. Sometimes states have kept people in arbitrary detention 24 or 48 hours, in some cases, for a month, or a year – without revealing their whereabouts or release them, but in thousands of cases people have been missing for decades. Despite various commissions set up in most of the countries to investigate these crimes, they have hardly been successful in ensuring justice, and holding perpetrators accountable, thereby leaving families of the victims in a constant state of anguish.
To demonstrate the extent of the problem, Amnesty International partnered with more than 20 human rights organisations campaigning to end this culture of enforced disappearance in the region, and created this digital space—a place where the stories of the disappeared are memorialized. Together, we highlight some stories that are representative of broader patterns of enforced disappearances and provide the families of the disappeared an opportunity to unite in their demands for justice and accountability.
take action now
Hundreds of thousands disappeared
Sri Lanka’s dark legacy of enforced disappearances underscores the blatant disregard for human rights that characterized the civil war and youth uprisings, ranking the country as the second highest worldwide for the practice, with 60,000-100,000 reported cases. For decades, Sri Lankan authorities have weaponized disappearances as a tool of state terror, ostensibly to combat ‘terrorism’ and maintain national security.
The practice of enforced disappearances traces back to the 1970s and 1980s, during the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) led insurrections (1971 and 1988-89), and intensified throughout the internal armed conflict, with Tamil youths disproportionately abducted by state forces and government-aligned militants. The cessation of the armed conflict in 2009 did little to halt enforced disappearances. state-backed groups in white vans created a new series of post war enforced disappearances, a wave of “white van abductions”, targeting journalists, activists and minorities communities. There is a trail of devastation, unanswered questions and deep-rooted grief among the families of the missing. Their tiring, yet tireless quest for truth, justice and reparation has been marred by state evasion, silence and even harassment.
Sri Lanka ratified the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (CPED) in May 2016 but it did not recognize the competence of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances to receive and consider communications from or on behalf of victims. Sri Lanka initially introduced a mechanism for the families to apply for death certificate for their missing family members, one year after the disappearance and introduced Certificate of Absence for the missing persons in 2016. However, Sri Lanka passed a domestic law criminalising enforced disappearances in 2018. Human rights organisations have repeatedly stated that the transitional justice process of Sri Lanka falls far short of meeting serving justice to the families.
The response of the Sri Lankan government to demands for justice have been tepid and largely performative. Despite establishing bodies like the Office of Missing Persons and the Office of Reparations in 2017 and 2018 respectively, efforts have fallen short of meaningful accountability. These initiatives are marked by a lack of trust and tangible progress due to political interferences have failed to assuage the victims’ families or to address the core issue at hand.
Human rights organizations and the United Nations, has repeatedly called on Sri Lanka authorities to investigate and, if there is sufficient admissible evidence, prosecute those suspected of criminal responsibility for these heinous acts, to provide the victims and their families with truth, justice, and reparations. Yet, the persistence of enforced disappearances as an issue underscores the urgent need for Sri Lanka to confront its past, ensure accountability, and safeguard against the recurrence of such crime.
Afghanistan has been afflicted by a harrowing legacy of enforced disappearances, spanning various regimes, including the People’s Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (PDPA) era, Mujahideen conflicts and civil war, and the ongoing de facto Taliban’s regime. The PDPA period (1978-1992) is particularly noted for its egregious record of enforced disappearances, with thousands vanishing simply for opposing the PDPA led government leaving families in perpetual anguish, unaware of the fates of their loved ones.
The turmoil continued with the Mujahideen (1992-1996), who also committed crimes under international law and human rights violations during civil war, including the enforced disappearance. Documentation by various organizations reveals a pattern of abductions across factions, with particularly devastating impacts on ethnic Hazaras. The Taliban’s emergence (1996-2001) and (20210 to present) further intensified the crisis of enforced disappearances, with their rule marked by widespread crimes, especially against Hazara community.
The subsequent government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2002-2021), despite international support, could not curb the tide of enforced disappearances, with groups like the Taliban and Islamic State of Khorasan Province. The Taliban’s return to power in 2021 has ushered in a new era of systematic disappearances, despite promises of amnesty. Independent reports of enforced disappearances and other documentation on and human rights abuses are severely restricted, obscuring the full extent of the crisis.
Despite the staggering scale of disappearances, Afghanistan lacked specific legal frameworks to address this crime until 2017, when enforced disappearances was included in the Penal Code. Yet, successive Afghan governments have largely failed to investigate or provide reparation for the victims and their families, with the situation remaining dire and largely unaddressed. The Independent Human Rights Commission of Afghanistan and civil society efforts highlight the ongoing plight of so many families affected by enforced disappearances, underscoring the urgent need for bringing all those suspected of criminal responsibility to justice in fair trials.
Enforced disappearances in Pakistan have been used as a political tool to silence the voices of political opponents, activists, journalists, and dissenters since the 1980’s. However enforced disappearances became more frequently deployed after 2001, during the ‘War on Terror’, as a counterterrorism strategy. The Pakistani Penal Code does not criminalise enforced disappearances, and various legal gaps have allowed this heinous crime to be committed in the country with impunity, leaving a trail of devastation in their wake.
Since 2011, at least 10,078 enforced disappearances were recorded by the Pakistan Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances (COIED). Of them, 3,485 took place in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 2,752 in Balochistan. Figures by human rights organisations and families suggest higher numbers.
In Pakistan, the recourse to enforced disappearance has evolved over time and a chilling pattern has emerged. While many remain disappeared, in other cases, the state, after briefly abducting people, releases them or uses draconian laws and trumped-up charges to silence them. In addition to these resurfaced disappearances, there have been instances of the same person being repeatedly abducted by the state.
Pakistan is also yet to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. There have been several attempts to criminalise enforced disappearance in Pakistan. On 7 June 2021, a proposed amendment to the Penal Code was presented before parliament by the Ministry of Human Rights, but it failed to meet the standards of international law and eventually lapsed in the Senate. Since then, owing in part to the political tumult in the country, Pakistan has made no meaningful effort to criminalize the practice.
Existing avenues do not prevent recurrence of the crime or protect victims’ families from harassment or threats and do not provide any means for redressal, rehabilitation, or financial support. Most of the families of forcibly disappeared people are unable to seek legal support to locate their loved ones due to socio-economic reasons despite broad constitutional safeguards and the application of the penal code as a protection against enforced disappearances. Their protests demanding justice continue despite resistance and harassment from the state.
Enforced disappearances in Bangladesh, tracing back to the 1971 independence and subsequent years, have alarmingly escalated since the Awami League’s ascent to power in 2009. Reports by Sweden-based Bangla news portal called Netra News and human rights organizations, such as Odhikar and the Asian Human Rights Commission indicate that hundreds have fallen victim to this heinous tactic of silencing dissent and political opposition. Amnesty International, the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and other human rights oranisations have highlighted the persisting issue, with cases predominantly targeting opposition leaders, activists, and dissenting voices under the guise of “counter-terrorism” .
Bangladesh’s notorious Rapid Action Battalion which consists of officers of Bangladeshi Army, Navy, Air Force, Border Guards, and police force, are accused of carrying out enforced disappearances, along with other human rights violations. Despite the international community raising concerns, the government has continued to stifle opposition voices through disappearances, torture, and stringent digital security laws, further undermining democracy and electoral integrity. The suffering of the disappeared’s families impact their mental, social, economic, and physical well-being as well, in addition to being harassed by the law enforcement authorities.
Despite Bangladesh’s membership in the United Nations Human Rights Council, the lack of ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance highlights a reluctance to commit fully to international human rights law. As a result, Bangladesh is yet to recognise enforced disappearance under its domestic criminal law, which underscores the urgent need for legal reforms, and a genuine commitment to human rights protection.
Likewise, the absence of adequate legal frameworks and mechanisms to address enforced disappearances, or even acknowledgement of the existence of this crime, fosters a culture of impunity. Activists and organizations like Maayer Daak and Odhikar face governmental repression, including false charges and operational restrictions, indicating a broader crackdown on civil society and human rights advocacy.
Despite UN interventions and calls for cooperation, the Bangladeshi government’s response remains unsatisfactory, suggesting a deliberate avoidance of accountability.
Nepal’s state of emergency from November 2001 to August 2002 marked a harrowing period of the increased use of enforced disappearances with more than 1300 cases of enforced disappearances. Amnesty International documented over 100 cases in this timeframe alone. The UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances (UNWGEID) reported Nepal as having the highest number of new reported cases of enforced disappearance for the period of 2002 and 2003. The district of Banke, situated in mid-West of Nepal, became a grim epicenter, with detainees often held at Chisapani army barracks, a site notorious for torture. Comprehensive records from various organizations painted a bleak picture: the Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC) reported 931 enforced disappearances, the International Committee of the Red Cross identified 1,347 missing persons, and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP) registered 3,223 complaints.
The pattern of disappearances primarily targeted those suspected of connections to the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre (CPN-M), with individuals frequently taken by security personnel in civilian clothes to locations where they were held incommunicado, often leading to extrajudicial executions. Victims predominantly came from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, especially from indigenous groups like the Tharu, highlighting the conflict’s deep-rooted issues around land distribution, economic disenfranchisement, and political marginalization.
Nepal is yet to ratify the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, but have domestic legal provisions criminalizing enforced disappearances. Despite Nepal criminalizing enforced disappearances in 2017 and the establishment of the CIEDP, not a single case has been investigated under the new Penal Code, reflecting a glaring gap between legislative progress and practical justice. The lack of investigations persists even as Nepal faces international obligations to address human rights violations stemming from its ratified treaties.
Efforts towards remedy and reparation have seen some progress, with Nepal’s constitution and subsequent legislation acknowledging the rights of victims to information, social rehabilitation, and compensation. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement and subsequent government initiatives have sought to provide relief and compensation to conflict-affected individuals, including monetary support and educational scholarships. However, the implementation of these measures has often been criticized for lacking clear guidelines for immediate relief.
In a recent development, the CIEDP’s distribution of Identity Cards to victims and their families faced rejection, as the cards omitted crucial details such as name of the disappeared person, and did not specify the reparations and subsidies that the card holders are entitled to, which leg to legal challenges. Alongside continuous support from national and international organizations through psychosocial support, financial assistance, and capacity-building programs, ongoing efforts to address the legacy of enforced disappearances in Nepal continues, albeit with significant challenges.
In India, enforced disappearances have been a grave human rights issue for decades, predominantly utilized in Kashmir, Punjab, Manipur, Chhattisgarh, and most recently in West Bengal. . They have largely been associated with armed conflicts and counter-insurgency operations. They are often compounded by “fake encounter killings”, where security forces stage self-defense scenarios to justify extrajudicial killings.
At least 8,000 disappearances were recorded between 1989 and 2012 in Kashmir. In Punjab, around 8,000 people were reportedly disappeared between 1984 and 1995 as part of the state’s counter-insurgency efforts. Manipur and the surrounding region in the north-east has seen enforced disappearances since the 1980s. Chhattisgarh, caught between the state sponsored ‘Salwa Judum’ (a vigilante group) and the Naxalite movement, has led to civilians being forcibly abducted – especially when violence peaked between 2005 and 2007. In West Bengal, nearly 100 enforced disappearances have come to light, where low-caste villagers, suspected of smuggling and trafficking, are targeted often the consequence of law enforcement trading in their human rights obligations for quick results when they face a complex criminal justice issue.
The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) has highlighted India’s issue in its annual reports since mid 1980s. India has not yet ratified the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and its national legal framework does not recognize enforced disappearances as a specific offence – worsening the situation. Often, police refuse to file complaints against law enforcement officials whenever the families try to lodge complaints under broader provisions under the Penal Code of India.
As families attempt to seek justice, truth and reparation, they are often met with intimidation, harassment and legal obstacles, including the requirement of government consent to pursue cases against state security forces under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) – and equivalent Act in Jammu Kashmir – which grants broad immunities and powers to the military.
There have been some important legal cases with potential to address such injustices, including the landmark judgment in Manipur where the Supreme Court ordered investigations into alleged extrajudicial killings yet, the Supreme Court has not explicitly deliberated on the practice of enforced disappearance as a distinct offence nor highlighted the need for perpetrators of enforced disappearances to be held criminally responsible. Thus, systemic impunity endures, bolstered by laws like the AFSPA, and the families of the disappeared are left on their own to navigate a challenging legal landscape in their pursuit of accountability.
In the Maldives, the governance history has entrenched a culture of political repression, restricted free speech, and curtailed civil liberties. Reports of enforced disappearances and other human rights violations during the 2013-2018 regime highlight the challenges in investigating and holding those suspected of criminal responsibility accountable due to government control over the nation’s institutions. This pattern of repression extends to threats, violence against activists and journalists, and a stark lack of accountability and transparency in addressing these violations.
The most recent prominent case of enforced disappearance in the Maldives was of journalist and activist Ahmed Rilwan Abdulla, who vanished in August 2014 after tweeting about the unsafe conditions for journalists reporting on gangs and Islamists -symbolic of the ongoing threat to freedom of expression. Despite it being one case, it fostered a climate of fear, suggesting a nexus between gang members, some Islamist, and political figures aiming to suppress dissent, coupled with the government’s indifference to these dynamics.
The government that came into power in the Maldives in 2018 appointed ‘The Deaths and Disappearances Commission in late 2019 which published a report into their investigation on Rilwan’s disappearance. However, the Commission had a mandate to investigate into 27 cases of disappearances, details of which have not been made public as of March 2024.
International bodies, including the United Nations and various human rights organizations, have called on the Maldivian government to tackle these pervasive issues. On 31 July, Maldives ratified the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. However, Maldives did not recognize the competence of the Enforced Disappearance Committee to receive and consider communications from or on behalf of victims or other states parties to the Treaty. The Maldivian Attorney General’s Office noted that they are working on formulating the relevant laws necessary for effective implementation of the Convention, criminalising enforced disappearance under the domestic law.
There is very limited information available in the public domain regarding human rights violations in Bhutan, especially on enforced disappearances. In the 1990s, Bhutan experienced significant political and social upheaval due to government policies aimed at national integration, privileging northern Bhutanese culture. These policies led to widespread human rights violations against the Nepali-speaking Lhotshampa population in southern Bhutan, resulting in arbitrary arrests, degrading treatment, and the forced exodus of over 70,000 people to Nepal. Several Bhutanese activists living in exile that Amnesty International spoke to, mentioned cases of enforced disappearances during this period, though data and statistics of the extent of the issue is unavailable.
Bhutan is yet to ratify the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and recognize the competence of the Enforced Disappearance Committee to receive and consider communications from or on behalf of victims and other states parties to the Treaty. Likewise, the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances has noted that there is one outstanding case of enforced disappearance registered with them, and the government of Bhutan is yet to investigate the case.
Discover more stories of enforced disappearances
These stories depict the magnitude of the issue across South Asia. Click on the map to know more of each of these stories.
Highlighting enforced disappearances across the region
A look at decade wise data of enforced disappearance across the region
Memories that the families hold on to
Methodology
Amnesty International collaborated with more than 20 human rights organizations in South Asia. The details featured on this page are based on the information provided by our partner organizations. The information has been verified in accordance with Amnesty International’s guidelines and used with the informed consent of the families of the forcibly disappeared. In countries such as Afghanistan and India where state reprisals are severe and contacting families of the disappeared would put the families at greater risk, we have collected stories of the forcibly disappeared published in prominent media outlets. To safeguard the individuals and groups involved, meticulous care has been taken to anonymize sensitive information, ensuring that the identities of affected families remain confidential as and when necessary.
Acknowledging the pervasiveness of enforced disappearances in the region, Amnesty International decided to focus just on one or two decades per country, except for Afghanistan, where outreach efforts have been impeded due to high security risks and the details were collected without limiting to a decade. It is important to mention that the collection of verified stories does not reflect the total number of the disappeared even within the selected decades.
Highlights from “Shadows of Silence” – Webinar on Enforced Disappearances in South Asia
Bangladesh
There has always been a culture of impunity around enforced disappearances, despite the attempt by the civil society organisations to campaign on these cases. Families of the disappeared and a civil society organisations campaigned against enforced disappearances, as news broke of secret detention facilities. There were people who were released under different circumstances, sometimes with arbitrary charges, as short term enforced disappearances became popular with the previous government.
Bangladesh just signed the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and established the first domestic mechanism – a commission of inquiry – to investigate cases of enforced disappearance. However, how justice is ensured still remains a question, and the need for a permanent commission is still there, along with domestic laws to criminalise enforced disappearance.
Pakistan
Political and economic crisis has worsen the situation of the victims of enforced disappearance, with fewer access to legal recourse, especially when the lawyers who are appearing for the cases of enforced disappearances are targeted as well. There are outstanding cases of over 10,000 enforced disappearances in Pakistan.
Evidence collection and preservation, manouvering existing legal system in the country to seek justice are issues that families of the disappeared are facing, along with extremely slow litigation processes. Currently there are cases of HRDs, journalists, students (minors) as well as families of the disappeared who have been protesting against the issue that have been subjected to enforced disappearances.
The current commission, Pakistan Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, needs to be abolished, and a Truth and Reconciliation Commission needs to be established, independent and efficient. Another option is a UN led commission, a mechanism that the families of the disappeared can trust. Meanwhile, the families rely on the courts for justice, that also depends on how independent individual judges are. Truth, accountability and even reparations and guarantees of nonrecurrence must meet international standards.
India
Kashmir is where enforced disappearance is at its worst, there have been mass graves of those who have been disappeared in various parts of the country where enforced disappearance has happened. Enforced disappearance happens along with extra judicial executions, arbitrary detentions, torture and other inhuman treatments. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) grants broad immunities and powers to the military, and with many insurgencies, they have used these powers to execute enforced disappearances.
Present political executive is far from establishing any domestic mechanism to investigate enforced disappearances in the country. An international tribunal or an independent civil society tribunal could conduct these investigations. Supreme Court orders if and when possible. Lobby strongly for the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances to visit India and publish an analysis of the situation.
Partners
- Families of the Disappeared,
- Human Rights Office,
- Affected Women’s Forum,
- Vikalpa,
- Human Rights Alert,
- People’s Union for Civil Liberties,
- For Peace Initiative Bhutan,
- Maldivian Democracy Network,
- Human Rights and Justice Center,
- Advocacy Forum
- NSEC,
- Women for Human Rights,
- Story Kitchen,
- Defence of Human Rights,
- Pashtun Tahafuz Movement,
- Voice for Missing Person’s of Sindh,
- Human Rights Council of Balochistan,
- Rights Now Pakistan