Liyaqat’s wife says they came back for disabled daughter

I had never imagined this will happen with us in our country.

It was concern for his deaf and dumb stepdaughter that convinced Syed Liyaqat Ali Shah,whom the Delhi Police have dubbed a Hizbul Mujahideen militant planning an attack in the Capital,to return to Kashmir. He sold a piece of land in Pakistan to pay for his journey back.

Only wife Akthara and daughter Jabeen made it to her native village Dardsun Kralpora in Kupwara Saturday morning though. Ali,a native of nearby Lolab,was detained at the Sanauli checkpost in Uttar Pradesh on the India-Nepal border. Coming back as part of Jammu and Kashmirs policy for surrendered militants,he had approached the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) for help. Alis family was accompanied by six relatives of another former militant,Mohammad Ashraf,of Chittibandi Bandipore.

We left Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir last Sunday (March 17) and were excited about our re-union with family members, said Akthara,after recording a statement at the Kralpora police station.

The main reason for our return was Jabeen. We were worried about her future in Pakistan as we had no relatives there. We decided to return to Kashmir when people started coming into the Valley through Nepal and were allowed to live a peaceful life. We also took the same route, said Akthara. We got Rs 2 lakh after selling a piece of land in Pakistan and used the money to arrange passports,air-tickets and other travel expenses.

On March 18,both the families reached Nepal. From Nepal we crossed over to India and when we approached SSB officials at the border,they sought identity cards from us. Ashrafs relatives had arranged identity cards for them and were at the border,but we were without any I-cards. The SSB officials took Ali into custody and asked us to proceed towards Gorakhpur.

Akthara said when she asked officials accompanying her about her husband,she was assured Shah would join them soon. From Nepal border to Gorakhpur,men in plainclothes searched our bags several times and asked questions about Ali. At Gorakhpur,we were kept in a hotel and not allowed to leave. Despite my repeated pleas about Alis whereabouts,no official informed me what had happened to him, she said,adding that their mobile phones and an old visa document were taken away.

On March 21,the men in plainclothes reportedly separated Akthara and Jabeen from Ashrafs family and put them on a Jammu-bound train. The men in civvies kept watch on us throughout our journey to Jammu. Once we reached Jammu,they all vanished, Akthara said,adding that she paid Rs 8,000 to a cab driver to take a taxi to Kupwara.

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It was Ashrafs relative who met them at the border who told her about Alis arrest.

Akthara blames her relative Fareed Shah for not being there at the Nepal border with I-cards to receive them. Before the start of our journey,I had called up my cousin and informed him. Alis first wife Amina had handed over I-cards of Ali to Fareed. But he did not turn up to receive us, she said.

Calling the case against Shah fabricated,she says she is wondering now why they came back at all. We were happy in PoK. I had never imagined this will happen with us in our country. After this case,I dont think people living in PoK will dare think of coming back.