LAHORE: The central Shoora of the Jamaate-Islami on Tuesday expressed grave concern over the disappearance of `thousands of peaceful citizens at the hands of state agencies`.

A resolution adopted by the Shoora at its recent meeting, termed this practice `unconstitutional` and appealed to the superior courts as well as the parliament to take immediate notice of the matter. It also urged the government and the agencies to set these people free without further delay.

The Shoora said that during the era of Pervez Musharraf, the police and other state agencies began the practice of picking civilians. Some of them, it said, were handed over to the US while many others were being `detained by the agencies in torture cells` in the name of investigation. The Shoora said that such treatment to the `peaceful and law-abiding citizens` was unlawful I and unconstitutional.

The Shoora said there was a long list of such disappeared persons from Balochistan, and alleged that many of them had been tortured to death in custody.