12 long year search for son of Kashmiri Widow still persists

On August 12, 2000 a Kashmiri handicraft trader was supposedly arrested in Katmandu, the basis is still unknown, the person is still missing but her mother has been running to officials for 12 long years in search for her son.

This is the story of Zubeida a 65-year-old Kashmiri widow, who is looking for her son Ghulam Muhammad Sofi for last 12 years.

She said, "The authorities told us that my son had been arrested in Nepal and later handed over to some unknown intelligence agency". She has begun a protest in Srinagar from Monday.

She also said, "I called on Mufti Mohammad Sayeed when he was the chief minister. I also urged Omar Abdullah to look into my son's case when he took over. But nothing has been done to trace my son. Perhaps, nobody understands the pain of a mother".

Her son was involved in a business dispute with two other Kashmiris in Nepal and she suspects that they might be involved in it.

"We started looking for him in different jails and interrogation centres in the country after the news of his arrest reached us after three weeks. But we were not able to trace him. My husband has died of the shock of our son's disappearance," she alleged.

They say that they also registered the complaint with the state human rights commission on August 24, 2001.

Her two sons are still in handicraft business and work in Katmandu.