Relatives of missing Baloch march through city
14 February, 2014
LAHORE: NGOs, human rights organisations and civil society welcomed the long march by relatives of missing Baloch at the city's Thokar Niaz Baig area on Thursday.
A number of civil society representatives and human rights activists then joined the long march and moved towards The Mall through Canal Road. The march reached Diyal Singh College where civil society and Baloch leadership spoke about the issues of missing Baloch. The rally then reached Lahore's Timber Market.
Participants were holding banners and placards in support of missing Baloch.
The protesters also demanded that the government grant them justice and find missing persons.
Families of the missing Baloch had started the long march on October 24, 2013, led by Mama Qadeer Baloch, vice president of an advocacy group – Voice of Missing Baloch Persons.
The march was the idea of former banker Mama Qadeer Baloch. Some 20-25 women heard his call and joined the walk, some with children in their arms, their feet clad in cheap plastic sandals ravaged by the hard road and photos of their family members in their hands.
Earlier on Wednesday, more than two dozen relatives of missing Baloch arrived in the city, as part of their long march from Quetta to Karachi.
Bushra Khaliq, executive director of an NGO namely VOICE, told that relatives of the missing Baloch hope to gain public support and pressure the government into freeing their loved ones who have disappeared. After recording their protest in Lahore, participants of the rally would now move to Islamabad.
The Supreme Court has also been investigating the cases, and has issued warnings to the government to recover these people.
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