Parents still in search of missing children in J&K

On that day, her 16-year-old son Javed Ahmad Ahangar was allegedly arrested by security forces during a raid and since then he is untraced.

Parveena moved from one jail to another in search of her son but could not find him. She knocked the door of judiciary, met most authorities concerned and informed civil society members in the country and outside.

But her 21-year-long wait for her son is still continuing. In 1994, Parveena formed the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP).

“The APDP is the association of those parents, whose sons are missing after their arrest by security forces and police. In 1994, the number of our members was 50 but now it is more than 500,” she said. Praveena is upset that she could not get justice in the last two decades.

“But I am not tired because our struggle is for justice and not with any vested
interest. We were offered money and government jobs for remaining silent. We rejected the offer. We want our children back. If our children have been killed let the government tell us and show us their bodies or graves,” Parveena demanded.

She is encouraged when the youngsters from different parts of the country visit her and inquire about her problem as also those of others. They also work with her association. “The APDP has nothing against the people outside J&K. They do not know about our plight. They, too, are human beings and whenever we get a chance to meet them, they are pained on listening to us. We want more people from outside support our cause. I do not want them to blindly follow us. They must properly investigate and if they feel we are right they too should become our voice," said the APDP president.

Parveena said her APDP is an apolitical organisation “We are the sufferers and we work for a humanitarian cause,” she stressed. The APDP organises a peaceful sit-in protest on 10th of every month at Pratap Park near Lal Chowk in Srinagar in support of their struggle. Not only the human rights activists from different states but youngsters also take part into it. Bhavneet Kaur from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, is one among them. Recently, she was present at one such protest as part of her two-month long internship with the APDP. She feels that working with an organisation like the APDP would give her deeper insight into the Kashmir situation.

The 24-year-old research assistant said she decided to work with the APDP after she came to know about the organisation and the work it does for the families of
disappeared persons. “I am very much impr­e­ssed with the commendable work done by Parveena,”she added.

Saqib, also a student, was in Srinagar for some time working with the APDP. “Working with the APDP has completely changed my thinking about Kashmir.  I think the people in the country must know more truth about Kashmir. The truth is beyond what we hear back home. My visit has helped me to understand the ground situation,” he said.
Three journalism students from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University, stayed with Parveena and her family for over a month and worked at her office.

After people from outside came and met her,  Parveena started taking part in protests and seminars outside J&K. The APDP president has attended a number of such seminars in Delhi, Bengalore and Mumbai. She has also visited the Philipp­ines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand and Europe. She attended the 86th session of the United Nations

Working Group on
Involuntary Enforced Disappearances (WGIED) in Geneva.  The APDP has got financial grant under the UN Voluntary Fund for the Victims of Torture (UNVF­VT) for 2010 by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHC­HR). It was for the first time during last 21 years of militancy that a UN body provided financial aid to a human rights group in Kashmir. Parveena said the fina­ncial assistance was provided under the medical, psychological and legal category.

The APDP president said some times some people in Kashmir also help in providing some assistance for the medical treatment of APDP members, marriage of their daughters and education of their children. Eight members of the APDP died due to natural causes since 1994 and their wish to see their missing sons again could not get fulfilled. They included Mughli of Habbakadal, Zoona of Mehjoornagar and Abdul Ahad Sofi. Praveena  said 8,000 to 10,000 youth are missing in custody in J&K since 1990.

“We have recently started a fresh survey to update the number,” she said. However, the state government says 1105 people have disappeared from the state since 1989. Ex-gratia relief has been provided to 530 such affected families. The APDP president does not agree with the government figures. “They have to do it to hide the truth,” she said.

Parveena said her son Javid was innocent and not even remotely connected with militancy. She added that after his arrest, the authorities first confirmed that Javid was in their custody but they later backed out. Parveena approached the court, which ordered the formation of a special team to probe the matter.

“The police team during its investigations established that my son was arrested in a raid by security personnel. The cops during the questioning of two arrested youth, who accompanied the security team at the time of raid, came to know about the names of three security officers, who arrested Javid. The state government approached the Centre for their prosecution but the request was rejected. Right now I am engaged in a legal battle in a court for getting the three officers prosecuted,” she said.

The APDP president said she would continue to struggle for justice and seek the support of justice loving people irrespective of their religious, regional, ethnic or cultural backgrounds. “We all must realize that we all are first human beings. Any injustice with any innocent anywhere is crime against humanity,” she said.