THATTA: The ‘Voice of Missing Persons’ caravan that originated from Quetta was given a rousing reception by activists of various nationalist parties when it entered Thatta on Wednesday to reach its destination, Islamabad.

Participants in the caravan are marching on foot for the cause of those people, mainly from Balochistan, who have allegedly been picked up and kept in confinement at some unknown places by the country’s intelligence agencies.

People of Thatta, along with activists of the Sindh Taraqqi-pasand Party, Qaumi Awami Tehrik, Sindhyani Tehrik, Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz and other nationalist groups, warmly welcomed the caravan when it entered Makli and Thatta.

The hosts showered rose petals on the caravan members and raised slogans in support of their cause to express solidarity with the unaccounted for victims of ‘forced disappearance’.

Speaking on the occasion, Mama Qadeer, Farzana Baloch and others said they wanted to draw the attention of the international community to the brutalities of oppressive forces on the Baloch people in Pakistan.

They told the hosts that it took them 35 days to reach Thatta, adding that a further two months march was ahead to reach the capital, where they intended to stage a sit in outside the UN mission and hand over a memorandum to the UN authorities about the “oppression on the part of the state and the law-enforcement agencies”.

Baloch leader Mama Qadeer claimed that no fewer than 18,240 people — most of them educated youths or their family members — had gone missing so far.

“A number of the victims were killed and their bodies or remains were found days, months or even years after they disappeared,” he said, adding that over 500 others were targeted and killed for raising their voice for the legitimate rights of Balochistan and its people.

Farzana Baloch noted that most of the victims were political or student activists.

She said even the caravan members had been receiving threats all along their course of the march.

The caravan later left for Hyderabad.