8,463 complaints of enforced disappearances have been received :

 Enforced disappearances have been a longstanding issue in Pakistan, with human rights organizations and activists alleging that the law enforcement agencies in Pakistan are responsible for the cases of forced disappearance in Pakistan. According to the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, since March 2011, 8,463 complaints of enforced disappearances have been received

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. However, activists estimate the real number to be higher

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. The victims of enforced disappearances are often from marginalized sections of society, and once forcibly disappeared, they are often at risk of torture and extrajudicial execution

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The groups and individuals targeted in enforced disappearances in Pakistan include people from Sindhi, Baloch, Pashtun ethnicities, the Shia community, political activists, human rights defenders, members and supporters of religious and nationalist groups, suspected members of armed groups, and proscribed religious and political organizations

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. Despite the pledges of successive governments to criminalize the practice, there has been slow movement on legislation while people continue to be forcibly disappeared with impunity

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The government has been criticized for not doing enough to end enforced disappearances, and human rights organizations have urged the government to investigate, prosecute, and punish any such violation

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. Therefore, the role of Pakistani security forces in enforced disappearances is to carry out secret detentions and enforced disappearances, which is a violation of international law and human rights.