U.N. probes for people missing in Pakistan

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QUETTA, Pakistan, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- A United Nations team was in Quetta, Pakistan, Saturday looking into the issue of people who have disappeared in the country.

The six-member group arrived in the capital of Balochistan province to hold meetings with family members of those who are missing, government and political leaders, lawyers and representatives from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, DawnNews reported.

The team has been in Pakistan since Sept. 9 while on a 10-day mission at the invitation of the government. Its final report isn't due until next year.

It is studying measures adopted by Pakistan to end instances in which people disappear without warning, and issues related to justice and reparation for the victims.

Nawabzada Talal Akbar Bugti, president of the Jamhoori Watan Party, said Friday he had asked the U.N. team to visit as many areas of the volatile province as possible.

"People are being killed and disappearing in the presence of agencies," he said, adding he believes the country is heading toward civil war.

The working group was set up by the U.N. Commission on Human Rights more than 30 years ago to help families find out what happened to people who have vanished.