ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet, which met under Prime Minister Shahid Khagan Abbasi on Thursday, granted a three-year extension to the Inquiry Commission on Enforced Disappearances that had been set up in 2010 in the light of the Supreme Court verdict in the missing persons case.

A senior minister told Dawn that the cabinet had in f act ratihed the approval that had already been granted by the prime minister to extend the period of the two-member inquiry commission under retired Justice Javed Iqbal till Sept 14, 2020.

The commission was set up by the interior ministry under the Pakistan Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1956 and its period has been extended from time to time since a number of cases of enforced disappearances are yet to be concluded. The main task of the commission, which holds its meetings in different cities, is to `look into all f acts of the matter and to make ef forts to trace the whereabouts of the missing persons`.

The commission has already resolved more than 2,400 cases.

Besides, the federal cabinet passed a unanimous resolution condemning the Rohingya Muslims`genocideinMyanmar.

`The government of Pakistan condemns the coldblooded and callous genocide of innocent Rohingya Muslims, including women, children and even infants, under the direct patronage of state institutionsof Myanmar,` says the resolution, the text of which was released to the media by the Prime Minister Office.

The resolution says: `The brutal and barbaric acts perpetrated against the unarmed civilian population not only constitute state terrorism, but also question the collective human conscience across nations and societies. These atrocities have also revealed the appalling hypocrisy of the democratic leadership of Myanmar.

`We call upon Nobel laureate Ms Aung San Suu Kyi to take immediate steps to stop the atrocities being committed in Myanmar where her party is in power.

Sources said that some cabinet members raised the issue of the recent declaration by BRICS naming some militant groups allegedly based in Pakistan as a regional security concern and calling for their patrons to be held to account.

The sources said that the prime minister took the cabinet members into confidence on the matter, stating that China had already clarified its position on the matter.

He said China had explained that there was no change in its policy and stand on the issue with respect to the recentlyadopted BRICS declaration against terrorist groups. The prime minister said the organisations that had been banned by the UN had also been proscribed by Pakistan and they considered these banned outfits a security threat and illegal entities.

He said that Pakistan desired peace in Afghanistan.of Myanmar,` says the resolution, the text of which was released to the media by the Prime Minister Office.

The resolution says: `The brutal and barbaric acts perpetrated against the unarmed civilian population not only constitute state terrorism, but also question the collective human conscience across nations and societies. These atrocities have also revealed the appalling hypocrisy of the democratic leadership of Myanmar.

`We call upon Nobel laureate Ms Aung San Suu Kyi to take immediate steps to stop the atrocities being committed in Myanmar where her party is in power.

Sources said that some cabinet members raised the issue of the recent declaration by BRICS naming some militant groups allegedly based in Pakistan as a regional security concern and calling for their patrons to be held to account.

The sources said that the prime minister took the cabinet members into confidence on the matter, stating that China had already clarified its position on the matter.

He said China had explained that there was no change in its policy and stand on the issue with respect to the recentlyadopted BRICS declaration against terrorist groups. The prime minister said the organisations that had been banned by the UN had also been proscribed by Pakistan and they considered these banned outfits a security threat and illegal entities.

He said that Pakistan desired peace in Afghanistan.