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A directory of organisations that document abuses, provide legal assistance and support families. We list them because families should not have to search for help in the worst moment of their lives.
Legal aid & documentation
Founded after the 2005 disappearance of Masood Ahmed Janjua, DHR maintains one of Pakistan's largest case archives on enforced disappearance, runs family support, and takes cases to the courts and international bodies.
Islamabad · longest-running missing-persons documentation group
An independent, domestic rights body that investigates and reports on abuses, including disappearances and the treatment of political detainees, and lobbies for legal reform. Website: hrcp-web.org
Lahore · national network
A civil-rights movement (proscribed by the federal government since October 2024) that documents disappearances, landmine casualties and rights violations in the Pashtun belt and organises families of the disappeared.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa & Balochistan
Documents enforced disappearances in Balochistan and supports families; reported hundreds of cases in 2025 alone.
Grassroots group documenting disappearances in Sindh and supporting affected families.
The government's own commission, established 2011. It can issue production orders, though compliance has historically been very poor. Useful as one formal record, not a guarantee of recovery.
Registries: Islamabad, Karachi, Quetta, Lahore, Peshawar
International mechanisms
Accepts individual case submissions and can raise them directly with the government. Individual cases must generally be sent by the family or a representative. Via OHCHR: ohchr.org
Documents cases, issues Urgent Actions, and campaigns for the release of disappeared activists. South Asia desk accepts information on cases. amnesty.org
Investigates and reports on disappearances, torture and restrictions on dissent in Pakistan. hrw.org
Works on the humanitarian consequences of conflict, including the impact of mines and the protection of people deprived of liberty. icrc.org
Tracks landmine contamination, casualties and clearance worldwide, including in Pakistan, through its annual Landmine Monitor. icbl.org
Diaspora organisations amplify cases internationally and can sometimes help raise a case with foreign governments and the press. Search for groups active in your country.
Family support
Families of the disappeared often face isolation, stigma and threats, and the burden falls disproportionately on women who become both provider and advocate. Look for local counselling services, hospital psychiatry departments, and the family networks run by documentation organisations. Meeting other families is, for many, the single most useful form of support.
If you are documenting a case, use a trusted device, keep copies with a person outside your household, and be discreet about whom you tell and where you go. Do not put a living detainee's location in any message. Our privacy policy explains how to submit to us safely.
Tell us what has happened. We will help you understand your options and point you to the right organisation, you can stay anonymous.