ISLAMABAD: A group of relatives of Baloch missing persons marching in protest against enforced disappearances of their near and dear ones reached Faizabad, the gateway of Islamabad, on Friday. They were warmly received by members of civil society and human rights activists, students and residents of the federal capital.

The march led by 70-year-old Mama Qadeer Baloch will enter Islamabad on Saturday and will submit their demands to UN officials on Monday.

The march which started in Quetta on Oct 27 last year was allegedly threatened and stopped from proceeding toward the capital by intelligence agencies personnel in most areas of Punjab.

Over 500 people joined the march in Rawalpindi and traffic on one side of the Expressway (from Faizabad to Zero Point) was cleared for them.

Addressing the people who received them, Mama Qadeer said it was a great achievement to reach Islamabad after walking all the way from Quetta. He announced that the marchers would leave Faizabad at 12 noon on Saturday and hold a press conference at the National Press Club.

“I am thankful to all the participants who accompanied me from Quetta to Islamabad and the people who received and supported us in different cities and towns,” he said, adding: “I am confident that the issue of missing persons will be highlighted and resolved after we reach Islamabad. We have travelled all the way to Islamabad to demonstrate that Baloch are peace-loving people and they believe in peaceful struggle.”

Mama Qadeer said the participants would stay in Islamabad and hand over their demands to the United Nations on Monday.

Talking to Dawn, Human Rights Activist Tahira Abdullah said it was a big achievement for the Baloch families to come to Islamabad from Quetta on foot. “But I am disappointed by the attitude of intelligence personnel who tried to stop the participants of the march and convert the issue of missing persons into something else,” she regretted.

Writer Naseer Memon said it was an encouraging sign that people of the four provinces, speaking different languages, had gathered in Faizabad to welcome the march.

“In Sindh, the participants got the warmest welcome because mistrust is increasing there and people are being deprived of their rights,” he said. “I must say that mistakes are being repeated which means that we have not learnt any lesson from history.”

Abdul Rashid, a student of the International Islamic University, Islamabad, said the Baloch people had undertaken the journey for a cause and for that reason he had come here to support them. “I am sure that this will serve to highlight the issue of missing persons,” he added.

Tariq Ahmed, a student of the National University of Modern Languages, said the Baloch people had been deprived of their rights and for that reason they had come to Islamabad.

Sahir, a student of the National Defence University, said that had there been justice and rule of law in Balochistan these people would not have come to the federal capital. “I believe the people of Balochistan have been forced to hold protests for the recovery of their loved ones.”

AFP adds: The marchers hope to present a petition to UN officials in Islamabad and meet foreign diplomats to raise awareness of their cause.

“We want to tell (the world) that people are being kidnapped every day in Balochistan, districts are being bombarded and almost every day we are receiving mutilated bodies,” Mama Qadeer, who is a retired banker, said.

“We have no more hope in the Pakistani government, which is why we want to talk to international organisations, so they can apply pressure.”

His son Jalil Reki, a member of the banned Baloch Republican Party, was found shot dead in 2011 after going missing.

“We hope to be heard, but if we are not we will evaluate the situation and who knows, maybe we will march to Geneva,” Mama Qadeer said. Rights groups accuse law-enforcement agencies of kidnapping and killing suspected Baloch rebels before leaving their bodies by the roadside.

According to Human Rights Watch, more than 300 people have suffered this fate -- known as “kill and dump” -- in Balochistan since January 2011.

The security services deny the allegations and say they are battling a fierce rebellion in the province.

The marchers carried photos of missing relatives with their names and the dates they disappeared, calling upon the government to find and bring them to trial if they are accused of committing a crime.

“Give them justice. Give them a fair trial,” said Maryam Kunwar, a member of the Pakistan Youth Alliance who accompanied the marchers.

Police met the marchers on Friday and promised they wouldn’t be harmed in Islamabad.

Balochistan government spokesman Jan Mohammad Buledi said the government was very concerned over the issue and trying to help as well. However, he said: “This is kind of our success that in our time at least the dumping of mutilated bodies is stopped now.”

Those who marched all had missing family members. A police escort and an ambulance trailed the group to provide help if needed. Marchers said they received some threats, but largely had been welcomed by locals who fed and housed them, as well as walked with them a while.

One protester, 10-year-old Ali Haider, said his father had been missing since 2010, abducted by gunmen in two cars. Some released detainees told his family they had seen his father in detention, Ali said, so he thinks he is still alive.

Fighting back tears, Ali simply said: “My father is in a prison. He is in pain. But we at home are in more pain.”