LARKANA: Leading the long march for Baloch missing persons, Mama Qadeer Baloch vowed to reach Islamabad to demonstrate in front of the UN office and hand over a memorandum to its officials regarding injustices meted out to Baloch people.

Talking to reporters at the Otha Chowk entry point to Larkana on Wednesday, he said that despite threats, the caravan would continue its onward journey.

He alleged that the Punjab governor had asked his Sindh’s counterpart to withdraw security deployed with the marchers and it had been discontinued from Thatta.

He said the security had been withdrawn, but the participants faced no such issue in Sindh.

In reply to a question, Mama Qadeer said that if the Punjab government refused them entry into its boundaries, the marchers would stage a sit-in and would not halt the march.

Describing agencies, the PPP and the PML-N as enemies of Baloch people, he said they had been protesting for four years against the enforced disappearances and killing of Balochs.

He said action against Balochs had begun during the regime of Gen Parvez Musharraf and their disappearance and killing had accelerated during the days of President Asif Zardari.

He accused former interior minister Rehman Malik of initiating the brutal action against Balochs. Mr Malik had passed the order to the then commander Federal Corps during his Gwadar visit.

Since then 1,500 people had been abducted and killed while the number of missing persons rose to 18,252 with the fresh lifting of two workers from Turbat College, he said.

“We are receiving messages of ambassadors of different countries in Islamabad for meeting and handing over the same memorandum to them which they would submit to the UN office in Islamabad,” he said, adding that they would also send the memorandum to their countries.

Asked why they had refused to accept the reception and food arranged for the caravan by the PPP, he said: “We are not here for receptions, food and other things.” Branding the PPP as the killer of Balochs, Mama Qadeer Baloch said they (PPP) had mistaken that the marchers would be happy with their receptions and other things.

He alleged that undisciplined PPP workers had misbehaved with the members of the caravan at the village of Faridabad.

He said Sindhis were also being abducted and killed and the pains of Sindh and Balochistan were identical.

Speaking on the occasion, Ms Farzana Baloch said her brother Dr Zakir Saeed had been in the captivity of kidnappers for four years. If he had committed any crime, he should be produced before the Supreme Court, she said.

The long march comprising 15 women and five men covered the distance from Karachi to Larkana in 28 days, carrying photographs of missing persons on a push cart.

They were received by Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) Larkana president Mumtaz Ali Shaikh, his party workers and activists of the PPP (Shaheed Bhutto) when they entered the district boundary.

In reply to a question, Mama Qadeer said the members of the caravan would stay in Larkana for a night but did not disclose the place.

They would resume the journey on foot on Thursday.