DHAKA: Relatives of people who have gone missing from Pakistan’s troubled south-west Baluchistan province set off on a gruelling 1,200km march from the port city of Karachi to Islamabad on Saturday, hoping to recover their loved ones.

The more than two dozen men, women and children had camped in the commercial hub for nearly three weeks after walking 700km from Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan where a violent insurgency against the Pakistani state has raged since 2004.

The latest leg of their journey stretches nearly 1,200km from Karachi, which lies on the Arabian Sea, to the capital city in the foothills of the Himalayas.

Their hope is to gain public support and pressure the government into freeing relatives who have disappeared allegedly at the hands of Pakistan’s security services, reports The Straits Times.

BDST: 1642 HRS, DEC 14, 2013
Edited by Robab Rosan, Current Affairs Editor