Srinagar, July 29
Relatives of persons missing since the eruption of militancy in Kashmir have been staging a sit-in here every month for the past three years demanding an impartial probe into the cases. They seek to know the truth in these cases of "enforced disappearances" and have urged the government to come out with details of the whereabouts of these persons.

Scores of relatives of the missing persons, wearing white bands with the names of their missing ones and holding placards,held a demonstration at Pratap Park here yesterday. They were holding placards like "stop disappearances" and "stop crimes against humanity" as the demonstrators, men and women, young and old, held the photographs of the missing persons.

According to a spokesman of the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), disappearances continued with an estimated number of 8,000 to 10,000 persons from 1989 to 2006. It also made public a list of 337 persons subjected to "enforced disappearance" from Baramula district alone, who included 251 civilians, 70 militants and 16 others who had been working with armed forces. The youngest of them was Javed Ahmad Dar (9) from Ladoora village in the Rohama area and the oldest was Haji Habibullah Ganaie (70) from Dangerpora, the spokesman said.

In a majority of the cases even the FIRs had not been lodged, he alleged. "By making public the list we demand an impartial probe into all cases provided by us.Let the government tell the truth in these cases. Let the government make clear where our loved ones are. Whether they are dead or alive?" the spokesman questioned.

The spokesman said the list was publicised while three lists of missing persons had been submitted to the authorities through the divisional commissioner, Kashmir, earlier, but to no avail. The divisional commissioner earlier this month had asked the APDP to provide a fresh list of the missing persons "without clarifying the motive", he said.

Reasi, July 29
Parveen Akthar, widow of a surrendered militant, has been single-handedly battling on two fronts. She has been confronting the apathetic and indifferent attitude of the authorities and struggling to feed her two-and-a-half-year old son, Amin, as her relatives have refused to give her shelter due to the fear of militants.

Living in a migrant camp at Talwara, Parveen’s is an example how indifferent the authorities in Jammu and Kashmir are in providing relief to those who have lost their breadwinner in the on-going bloodshed.

Although the Jammu and Kashmir government has formulated a policy,under SRO 43, to provide relief to the militancy-affected families, this poor woman, for the past eight months, has been struggling get some, but to no avail.

At the time of their marriage, Parveen's husband, Abdul Karim, was a militant of the Hizbul Mujahideen and active in the Mahore and Gool areas of Reasi district. It was through her love and affection, Parveen convinced Karim to surrender before the security forces and live a peaceful life with his family.After the birth of his son, Abdul surrendered before security forces on January 8, 2005.

“Had I known about the attitude of the authorities, I would never have suggested my husband to lay down arms and join the mainstream,” lamented the woman and disclosed that militants were out for her husband's blood after the surrender, but the authorities failed to provide him adequate security.“After the surrender, my husband repeatedly approached the local administration for employment outside the village”, she recalled and regretted that promises made at the time of hus surrender were not fulfilled.

She narrated how her husband was kidnapped on November 1, 2006, from their Lancha village Mahore and his mutilated body, with a slit throat, was found the next morning from the forest. Parveen, along with some other families of Lancha,migrated to district headquarters Reasi and has taken shelter in a Talwara camp.

Srinagar, July 29
While migrant labourers from outside the state continue fleeing Kashmir, Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani has asked militant organisations to ask only criminals to leave the valley.This followed the setting of deadline by some militant organisations for the labourers from outside the valley to leave following the incident of the rape and murder of a minor girl in Handwara involving four persons, including two labourers from outside the state.

Geelani clarified here yesterday all non-state subjects had not been asked to leave the valley but only those with a criminal background and indulging in immoral activities had been asked to leave. This would not apply to those earning livelihood honestly, he added. He asked the militant outfits to leave the issue as it was a social issue and expressed anguish over threats to the labourers from outside.He asked people not to let this issue becoming a law and order problem and made it clear "we are not opposed to anyone because of his religion or region, but against the criminals", he said.

Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who visited Handwara yesterday, called for exemplary punishment to those involved in the incident. He announced government job for a member of the victim’s family besides monthly assistance of Rs 5000 for expenses of studies of her siblings. Azad said he would consult the Chief Justice of the state high court for designating a special judge to try the accused on day-to-day basis. Minor girl Tabinda Ghani,a class VIII student, was raped and murdered by four men on July 20 while she was returning home from school.

Body of Tabinda was recovered from an orchard between Langate and Batapora, Handwara in Kupwara district on Friday last. She was reported missing since she had not returned home from Uqaab Public School, Langate. This sparked demonstrations in the area for days. The police had arrested 16 persons of whom four, including two locals and two from outside, were accused in the incident. The four accused were identified as Azhar Ahmad Mir alias Billa, Mohammad Sadiq Mir, Jehangir alias Jehangir Bihari (carpenter) from Maida, Bengal, and Suresh Kumar (cobbler) from JhunJhunu, Rajasthan.

Kargil, July 29
A dish connection at his home,work on contract from the Army and round-the-year steady income for his family, 16-year-old Janishar is in a dilemma whether he should go back to Srinagar for his studies or remain in his village here. "My parents sent me to Srinagar in early 2000 as future here remained uncertain. Things have improved so much, and I do not really want to leave my family once the school vacation ends," he says in halting English.

If eight years are long enough time for a town to crawl back to daily normal routine of life, Kargil has travelled a distance more than this.

Once things were never so good for this one-horse town.

Heavy deployment of the Army after the war has provided locals quality educational and medical facilities from institutions run by it, besides work opportunities and boost to business. The constitution of the Autonomous Development Council by the state government in 2003 has also meant that locals could always catch hold of their representatives here to get their grievances redressed.

"We hardly need to run to the capital to get things done. There is this development council and there is, of course, the Army," says Mammad Amin, vice-president, Polo Promotion Committee, Dras, which is part of Kargil district. In fact, he says, help from the Army, whether it is for repairing a road or attending to medical emergencies, has been prompt and effective due to the forces' huge infrastructure and their thrust to reach out to civilians.

"The help we have got from civilians has been huge. We have also tried to make life better for them," says Major-Gen V.S. Tonk, who commands 8 Mountain Division based here. Amin, however, adds that electricity supply remains a concern for them. Though, he says, it is not cut in night.

Perennial peaceful atmosphere in the district, part of Ladakh division, has only helped matters. The insurgency in neighbouring Kashmir division does not cast even a pale shadow here. The only problem for some border villages was shelling which often occurred between both forces even after the war. "We built bunkers in our houses to escape shelling. But even it has come to a stop for the past five years after relations improved between both countries," Khadim,a resident of Ranbirpura village, said.

Amin bemoans that they still lack amenities enjoyed by the neighbouring Leh district, a tourist hub which boasts of air connectivity to Delhi and Jammu, but says they are catching up. "They had autonomous council much before us, and flights bring them moneyed tourists," he says,hoping that Kargil too would make a mark on the tourism map like Leh.