Amina Masood Janjua

She started her early education at Presentation Convent High School Risalpur (a town and air force base near Mardan) where she studied until tenth grade. After passing her matriculation she joined Nisar Shaheed College which is also in Risalpur. After two years study in Nisar Shaheed College she joined F.G College for Women Rawalpindi from where she passed her BA exams with English Literature, Persian and Fine Arts as majors.[2] As described by her in an interview she used to draw and paint on everything she could lay her hand on since very early childhood. This natural talent of painting led her to Punjab University from where she got master's degree in Fine Arts securing second position and was awarded Silver Medal. After masters Pakistan's renowned painters Mansoor Rahi[3] and Hajira Mansoor mentored and played a vital role in polishing her painting skills.[4]

As an artist her favoured medium is oil and acrylic paints. Most of her paintings reflect an inclination towards expressionism and romanticism. She usually likes to paint portraits and life drawings. Her work had been exhibited in several solo and group exhibitions.

Her poems occasionally appear on her blogs but she has not published any volume as of yet.[5]

She is married to Masood Ahmed Janjua who belong to a military family. Her father in law Lieutenant Colonel Raja Ali Muhammad and two elder brothers in law had served in Pakistan Army and Pakistan Air Force. She has two sons and one daughter.

Her husband, Masood Ahmed janjua, who was a successful business man and ran multiple business concerns, left home to go to Peshawar on 30 July 2005 along with his friend Faisal Faraz but did not return home neither he reached his destination. His mysterious disappearance could not be accounted for initially but later on certain evidences convinced her that he had been picked up by an intelligence agency of the country. It was further established through the statement of one Dr Imran Munir who remained in the custody of military, was court martialed though released later on by the orders of Supreme Court of Pakistan. Dr Imran in an official statement given to the government functionaries testified that he has seen and met Masood Ahmed Janjua in a secret detention centre.

Amina states that she was devastated by the disappearance of her husband and found herself disoriented for many months while desperately taking random measures to trace her husband. Police was of no help and even did not register a case. She started to approach different figures then in power. She wrote letters to anyone who she thought could help including Gen Pervez Musharraf who was Army Chief and President of Pakistan at that time. All her efforts turned out to be futile as no one helped her.

Very early in her struggle she came to know that there are countless other people who are victims of enforced disappearance but do not have a remedy for their malady. Victim families were forced to remain silent for fear of persecution under military rule. She started campaigning among the victims families Co-Founding The Activist group named Defense of Human Rights alongside Abdul Rashid Ghazi and Khalid Khawaja. Underer the banner of Defence of Human Rights, she organized her activities to trace not only her own husband but all the others who had disappeared. After disappointment from all quarters she got out of her home and staged her first road protest on 4 September 2006. This first protest was not the last because she continued this protest on daily basis for next two months.

After two months protest it was on 9 Oct 2006 that proceedings of Suo Moto case of Masood Janjua along with some other missing persons started in Supreme Court of Pakistan. Her campaigning brought results and by the end of 2006 DHR had registered and submitted 100 cases of disappearances into Supreme Court.

On 28 Dec 2006 in a bid to deliver a letter at GHQ gate Amina was set on marching along with her kids and other families. But the authorities subjected them to a brutal crackdown in front of Flashman's hotel Rawalpindi. Children of Amina Masood Janjua were particularly targeted. Ali, 14, and Muhammad, 15, were beaten mercilessly and 9-year-old daughter was fainted. Muhammad was carried away forcefully by police.

In 2007 earlier on 9 March and later on 3 November Gen Perwaiz Musharaf sacked Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry along with rest of the judiciary and put all the judges under house arrest. Pakistan's civil society in general and lawyer's community in particular were outraged and started an historical movement for the restoration of judiciary. The movement was popularly known as "Lawyers' Movement". Missing person families under Amina's leadership stepped out and joined this movement. She participated with full force in every endeavour for the rule of law. At last the deposed Chief Justice and rest of the judges were restored on 16 March 2009.

Amina, whose only hope had been the judiciary, was heavily disappointed when the missing persons case could not appear on Supreme Court's docket for many months. Sad but undaunted, she decided to jolt the Court. She set up a protest camp in a small tent right outside Supreme Court's gate. She stayed in that tent for 12 days and 12 nights from 2 November 2009 to 13 November 2009.

At last her efforts bore fruit and the Registrar of Supreme Court called Amina Masood Janjua in his office on 13 November 2009 and promised for immediate hearing and asked to call off her sit-in. Resultantly hearing of cases of missing persons resumed on 23 November 2009 once again.

In 2010, Under Supreme Court's directions, government formed a commission of inquiry to resolve the missing persons cases which was headed by Justice (r) Mansoor Alam. Amina fully cooperated with this commission, worked day and night, and submitted cases of forced disappeared persons for investigation and accompanied every complainant for the proceedings. The commission concluded its finding and issued a report at the end of __________ months period. But government neither published the report nor acted upon its recommendations.

Instead of paying heed to the first commission of inquiry the government formed another commission of inquiry to resolve the issue of enforced disappearance. Although Amina had learnt by now that such commissions were merely tactics to give false hope and gain time, she started to work with this second commission as well. But this commission acted more in defence of the perpetrators of enforced disappearance than to find missing persons.

On 16 March 2011 she along with her daughter and 40 other women, children and old men was arrested and remained detained overnight by the authorities while the congregation was on its way to present flowers to then Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on the anniversary of restoration of Judiciary.[6] This was the day infamous Raymond Davis was set free.

Anguished by the time wasted by the commission of inquiry and Supreme Courts dwindling interest in the missing persons issue, she organized a second day/night protest in front of parliament house Islamabad on 31 Oct 2011. She wrapped up this camp very next day on the appearance of Justice (r) Javaid Iqbal at the scene who is heading the commission of inquiry. The Judge announced in front of media that he, in his official capacity, promise to divulge a final solution for the recovery of the missing persons within two weeks time. But he did not keep his promise.

Continuing her struggle she organized third day/night protest camp in front of Parliament House Islamabad which started on 15 February 2012 and continued for 75 days until 30 April 2012. She along with families of more than 500 missing persons stayed on the road side, garnering huge support and attention of media and civil society.

Almost all the top leadership of important political parties visited the camp and showed solidarity with the cause including Mian Nawaz Sharif who was leading the opposition at that moment. Government under pressure passed two unanimous resolution, one in National Assembly and one in Senate, pledging to take measures to trace all missing persons and stop further incidents of enforced disappearance.

She is continually under death threat via mail and phone from unknown persons. She informed the Supreme Court of the same consequently Court ordered the government to provide her with security.

In 2008 she was invited by Amnesty International for a visit to Europe and USA. She addressed various conferences in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Lausanne, Lucerne, Bern, Geneva, Zurich, Berlin, Hannover, Oslo, Stockholm. She also met with the high government official of many countries during her visit.

In 2008 her US visa was cancelled two hours before she was to fly for USA. US embassy never disclosed the reasons behind the refusal.

She act as the sole spokesperson of DHR Pakistan and continuously presents the missing person issue in Pakistan's as well as international media.

Her activities as chairperson of Defence of Human Rights involves coordination with all the offices in Government circles like, PMs secretariat, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Law and Justice and HR, Supreme Court, Foreign office, FIA, NAB, City Administration, Army, provincial and tribal governments etc. She organises campaigns and manage all the activities of DHR. Her work also include coordination with international human right organizations like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Cageprisoners etc.

In Nov 2006 she filed her 1st independent petition in Supreme Court for 16 missing persons. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry allowed her to plead for the other missing persons as an advocate. Since then she is continually appearing in the cases of missing persons in the Supreme Court. Presently she alone is representing more than 700 cases of enforced disappearance.

Like Supreme Court she also prepares and submit cases to Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearance. She also appear in Commission of Inquiry on behalf of complainants.

Her engagement with forced disappeared and secretly detained persons led her to realize the difficulties faced by persons who are detained in foreign lands. In 2010 she managed to repatriate 22 Pakistanis from Thailand who had been facing life imprisonments for minor crimes under royal laws of the country. Her present projects involves repatriation of 52 foreign prisoners detained in Pakistani jails to their respective countries and repatriation of more than 300 Pakistanis who are detained in China.