Enforced disappearances: Affected families narrate woeful tales

Srinagar: The helpless parents of their disappeared loved ones and the daughters and sons of their disappeared fathers staged a silent protest here in Press Enclave Srinagar on Saturday.
The protesting affected families hailed from North Kashmir’s Baramulla district. They demanded the whereabouts of their disappeared family members while majority of the family members alleged that their loved ones were abducted and ‘killed’ by army.
Muqadam Banoo, an age old woman from Zamboor Pattan, who was part of the protest said that one army officer Sharma asked her husband and son to help them arranging things on August 15, 1997. “The army officer took both my husband and the son along and they never returned back to the family,” she said and lamented that army officer destroyed her family despite the fact her son and the husband were working as potters for the army.
The protesters had assembled under the banner of Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons. Tahira Bano, the spokesperson of the Association was also part of the protest. She said her husband was picked up by unknown masked men from Sheeri Baramulla in 2002 and since then she doesn’t know about his whereabouts. “I don’t know where my husband is. Don’t know whether he is alive or dead,” Tahira said.
A family from Delina Baramulla accused army officer Atul Sharma of 22 RR kidnapping their mason son Manzoor Ahmed Mir in 2003. “Since that incident, Mir was found nowhere,” they said.
Every family narrated the woeful tales, how their loved ones were either picked up by army or by unknown gunmen in front of their eyes.
A woman from Sheeri Baramulla accused one Captain Kakeray of 28 Rashtriya Rifles of abducting her husband Abdul Hamid Dar. “The army captain picked my husband in front of my eyes with the word he will be released after questioning. Since then, I don’t know whether he is alive or dead.”
Another family from Baramulla said that their government employee son working in Power Development Department Nazir Ahmed Mir was arrested by 16 Dogra Regiment and since then they don’t know about his whereabouts.