Kashmir : Mother’s wait for missing son ends with her death

SRINAGAR, Oct 10: Another mother’s 13 year old wait for her son, who disappeared in custody of security forces, ended with her death. But her daughter-in-law has vowed to carry forward the quest for truth and struggle for justice.

Hussina Shah, a member of the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), died recently, un noticed and almost unsung, but for the usual mourners – her fellow victims turned activists from the APDP group.

Despite losing another member, Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) chairperson Parveena Ahangar today said that her organization will not lose the hope of tracing their missing sons and would continue their struggle.

Participating in a condolence cum monthly sit in protest at Pratap Park here, Parveena Ahangar said she has lost an important member of APDP, Hussina Begum a resident of Dolipora Kupwara few days back. She said Hussina was regularly participating in the monthly sit it protest here to trace her beloved son Syed Anwar Shah, who was allegedly picked up and subjected to enforced disappeared by the security forces on July 21, 2000 in Srinagar.

Parveena also said that Late Zaman Shah had migrated to Srinagar in early 70s with his two sons from Dolipora Kupwara in search of job to earn livelihood for their family. She said that Zaman Shah worked as Chowkidar (Watchman) at several places in Srinagar before he passed away in the year 1992. After his death the family did not return back to their native village. Instead both their sons started working inSrinagar.

Parveena told that the younger son, Syed Anwar Shah initially started working as auto rickshaw driver and later worked as a painter. He got married in the year 1998 and became father of a baby girl a year later.

On July 21, 2000, Syed Anwar Shah left for work from his rented residence at Fateh Kadal, Srinagar but never returned back. The family had lodged a missing report in Police Station Fateh Kadal in this regard. Besides, the family also filed a case in the court and pursued it with the state authorities; however, nothing has come their way.

Earlier they were informed by the authorities that the victim have been lodged in a jail in Jammu, however they could not trace him.

Since last 13 years, Hussina Begum and her family, which include her handicapped son and the half-widow Naseema and daughter of the victim, had been struggling to know the whereabouts of Syed Anwar Shah.

While the family of Syed Anwar Shah was making all out efforts to know his whereabouts, a piece of land belonging to the family, their only asset, at their ancestral village at Vilgam, Dolipora (Handwara), was encroached and grabbed by some of the influential people in the village, rendering the family homeless. The family is presently living in a rented accommodation in Srinagar.

Naseema, wife of Anwar Shah, said that after the death of her mother in law she is facing extremely difficulty to feed her family. “There is no one for our family which will own my daughter and me. We have no monthly income. Our land has encroached by many people at Dolipora. Now we are totally dependent on others,” she said.

Naseema also said that she has not left the hope that she will trace her missing husband. “We will continue our fight to trace my husband. My daughter is always asking me about her father. I cannot share the pain and sufferings, which we are facing these days,” she said.