Abduction in Iraq, anguish in Valley

Over a month ago, when peace activist Harmeet Soodan was abducted in Iraq, it meant sleepless nights for relatives far away—in J-K&#146...

Over a month ago, when peace activist Harmeet Soodan was abducted in Iraq, it meant sleepless nights for relatives far away—in J-K’s Baramulla and Punjab’s Mohali.

Born to a Sikh family in Baramulla, Soodan’s parents had immigrated to Canada but he had kept the connection with his homeland alive. Today, the Valley is chipping in to secure his release.

The Srinagar-based citizen’s forum Coalition of Civil Society (CCS) has launched a campaign for his safe release. And Muslim neighbours of the Soodan family are planning to issue an appeal to the abductors.

Story continues below this ad

Soodan (32), and three others, were abducted by ‘The Swords of Righteousness’ on November 26, who called them ‘‘spies working for the occupying forces under the guise of a Christian aid group.’’ Soodan had been living in New Zealand and used to straddle the conflict zones of Palestine and Kashmir for humanitarian work—the Palestinians have already issued an appeal for his release.

CCS activists say they had been in touch with Soodan through e-mail through the last year and he was scheduled to visit the Valley next summer. ‘‘He (Soodan) wanted to help and was eager to come,’’ Khurram Parvez, senior spokesman of CCS, told The Indian Express. Soodan had visited Kashmir in July 2004 and in 2002.

From his e-mails to CCS, Soodan comes across as a youth nursing a deep sense of anguish. ‘‘When I imagine Kashmir, I remember a family that was decimated in 1947; a family, which was torn asunder by the policies of regional powers, a greater part resigned to refugee camps or scattered throughout the world,’’ he wrote this year.

Soodan’s parents had left Kashmir for Canada a few decades ago to join relatives who had started business there following the Partition. But Soodan’s grandfather Bagwan Singh and grandmother still live in Baramulla’s Kanli Bagh colony.

Story continues below this ad

They are currently with their daughter in Mohali, and have been informed about the abduction.

Says Ravinder Singh, a relative from Baramulla: ‘‘They have a hazy idea about what the kidnap means. They were told it was not such a serious matter and that he would be released soon.’’

In Mohali, Soodan’s maternal aunt Taranjeet Kaur is scared of any publicity that may hamper his release. ‘‘You can’t imagine what our family is going through. I haven’t had a night’s sleep since my nephew was abducted,’’ says Kaur.

She has been told that Soodan may be on the verge of being released, for he is a Canadian, unlike the others. ‘‘I believe they are treating him better than the other prisoners, Canada doesn’t have a military presence in Iraq. He had gone to visit his sister in New Zealand when he met the Christian Peacemakers Team and decided to join them in Iraq,’’ she says.