The sudden spurt of blasphemy allegations and accusations of being "anti-Islam" directed at some of the missing activists also poses a perilous situation for them even if they are recovered, since the mere suspicion of blasphemy is enough to continually and permanently endanger an individual’s life in Pakistain.
It is still hoped that the activists will be recovered safe and sound, however, even if they return, the climate of fear and intimidation engendered by their disappearances will remain. The message of these disappearances is hard to miss: quieten or be silenced.
A strongly-worded editorial in Dawn brought to light an important assumption and accusation operating in this entire issue: "The sanitised language -- ’missing persons’, ’the disappeared’, etc -- cannot hide an ugly truth: the state of Pakistain continues to be suspected of involvement in the disappearance and illegal detentions of a range of private citizens."
The matter of "disappeared" and "missing" persons began in Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
, and today it has reached the capital. There is no escape for the state from this, for it is either complicit or it is incompetent. And for the rest of the country, these are ominous signs.