Islamabad, April 28 (IANS) At least 105,571 cases involving missing women were registered in Pakistan’s Punjab province between 2021 and 2025, a leading minority rights organisation said on Tuesday, citing data submitted to the Lahore High Court.
Expressing concern, the VOPM mentioned that more than 70,773 cases were related to abduction, while 80,767 cases were later cancelled. For many families, it is noted that the cancellation of a case does not bring closure but rather leaves them with uncertainty, silence, and unanswered questions.
Citing the findings, the rights body said that in nearly 77 per cent of cases—approximately 80,000 women—the individuals appeared before courts stating they had left home voluntarily, often for marriage. “Legally, such statements were recorded as consent,” it noted.
However, the VOPM said that such statements are often shaped by social pressure, family expectations, fear, and limited choices, raising questions about whether they reflect “true freedom”.
According to the rights body, even as thousands of cases have been formally closed, the human impact persists. The data showed that 3,864 cases remain under investigation, while 3,258 women are still untraced, leaving families in continued distress.
Additionally, the VOPM mentioned that 1,432 cases involving identified suspects remain unresolved, and 1,820 were delayed due to legal or procedural challenges. In contrast, it said, only 612 women have been recovered and presented before courts—a small figure compared to the alarming crisis.
“What makes the situation even more concerning is how easily such figures risk becoming normalised. Over 100,000 cases should never feel routine. Each one marks a moment of disruption—when a woman disappeared, left under uncertain circumstances, or became part of a system that often struggles to fully explain what happened,” the VOPM stated.
As 3,258 women remain untraced in Punjab, it said, families continue to live with uncertainty—“watching doors, checking phones, and holding onto hope despite the passage of time.”
“This issue goes beyond statistics, legal codes, and administrative processes. It reflects the lived experiences of women whose stories are often reduced to files and entries, and of families left carrying the emotional weight of unresolved loss. In the end, while the numbers are staggering, the human cost is far greater,” the rights body noted.
–IANS
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