MAJID JAHANGIR
The family of Mukhtar Ahmad Beig can never forget the knock on their door on the midnight of September 26, 2000.
The door was opened by one of the family members. It was the army, say the family members. They recall how the entire family was herded into a room and Beig was taken away by the troops.
There is no news of him since. The troops refused having arrested Beig, who was militant earlier. He had joined militancy in early nineties. He was picked by troops and released later. He had been leading a normal life since 1996 and earning his living selling cigarettes. He was 27 years old when he was picked up.
Beig’s father, two brothers and three sisters have lost hope of Beig ever returning. But not Beig’s mother, 65-year-old Taja Begum. “I will see my son one day,” says Taja, who is seen most of the time praying for her son.
Taja Begum, who is suffering from a heart problem, recounts the day she last saw her son: “The army said they wanted to search the house. I was too shocked to count them. The entire family was in a shock. Every part of the house was searched.”
“They took my son along with them. They told us they would ask him certain questions and release him the next day. But he was’nt. I never found why my son was picked up,” she says. “My son was a released militant and had been living a normal life since 1996. When we contacted the police and the army, they refused having arrested him. We moved from pillar to post to trace Beig.” The family also lodged a complaint with Sonawar police. “Since 1996, Beig had not been involved in any militancy even remotely,” says one of his relatives.
The family of Mukhtar Ahmad Beig can never forget the knock on their door on the midnight of September 26, 2000.
The door was opened by one of the family members. It was the army, say the family members. They recall how the entire family was herded into a room and Beig was taken away by the troops.
There is no news of him since. The troops refused having arrested Beig, who was militant earlier. He had joined militancy in early nineties. He was picked by troops and released later. He had been leading a normal life since 1996 and earning his living selling cigarettes. He was 27 years old when he was picked up.
Beig’s father, two brothers and three sisters have lost hope of Beig ever returning. But not Beig’s mother, 65-year-old Taja Begum. “I will see my son one day,” says Taja, who is seen most of the time praying for her son.
Taja Begum, who is suffering from a heart problem, recounts the day she last saw her son: “The army said they wanted to search the house. I was too shocked to count them. The entire family was in a shock. Every part of the house was searched.”
“They took my son along with them. They told us they would ask him certain questions and release him the next day. But he was’nt. I never found why my son was picked up,” she says. “My son was a released militant and had been living a normal life since 1996. When we contacted the police and the army, they refused having arrested him. We moved from pillar to post to trace Beig.” The family also lodged a complaint with Sonawar police. “Since 1996, Beig had not been involved in any militancy even remotely,” says one of his relatives.
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