MULTAN: The long march of VBMP against disappearances and kill dump has reached Multan. Where the families of Baloch disappeared protested against the abductions and custodial killings of Baloch activists by security forces and the recovery of mass graves in Tootak area of Khuzdar. “Intelligence agencies are responsible for the missing of their relatives and we want their early recovery,” the participants said. The participants of VBMP long march said that secret agencies had kidnapped over 18,000 Baloch since the beginning of conflict in 2000. “Around 1,500 people have been killed in custody and their bodies were dumped in deserted areas across Balochistan,” they maintained.Earlier, 15 long march participants, including women, children and men, reached at Sher Shah Bypass from Muzaffargarh amid tight security. They were pushing a cart carrying portraits of the missing persons. The Baloch Welfare Organisation and Minority Rights Commission of Pakistan warmly welcomed the participants at Chenab Bridge and expressed solidarity with them. The 73 year-old VBMP vice-chairman Mama Qadeer Baloch was adamant not to give up the fight against injustice and abduction of their Baloch youths. Samina Baloch, daughter of Muhammad Ramazan Baloch missing for the last five years, said that the bodies of the victims bore marks of extreme torture and bullet wounds. She said that the victims were subjected to severe torture and later shots were fired on them. The participants said that Musharraf had started targeting the Baloch people in 1999 and declared a war against them. Shah Shan Baloch said that Musharraf had started the military operations targeting the Mari and Bugti regions. “The number of missing Balochs has now exceeded 18,000. Our final destination is Islamabad UN Secretariat, which is watching us and we will get justice from them,” said Mama Qadeer whose son Jalil Reki, 30, was killed leaving his wife widow and two children orphan. The VBMP has succeeded in raising the issue at the international level. As a result, a team of UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) visited Pakistan and Balochistan in September 2012. This was the first-ever visit of a high-level UN mission to Baluchistan in relation to the missing people. They conducted detailed interviews with leaders of Voice for Bloch Missing persons and families of the victims. He said that some people were bothered by the popularity of the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons long march and had started pressurising the families of the participants. “The houses of several people have been raided for supporting the long march,” he said. “Those who thought we will get tired in a day or two should know that we are determined to continue the march at all cost.” Dr Din Muhammad of BNM has been missing for the last four years and his daughter Subha Baloch is taking part in the long march. She said the march has completed more than 100 days for the release of missing Baloch activists. “Balochs should be proud of the 70-year-old Mama Qadeer who has embarked on the journey that many of us could not do,” she maintained. The VBMP had announced the long march on October 26 from Quetta to Karachi to raise its voice. The men, women and children are participating in the long march. The Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, a representative organization of the families of killed and kidnapped Balochs, started the long march from Quetta on November 27 last.
