‘Look how they are leaving us’

They crossed the LoC to reunite with their estranged relatives here. Today, for those who took the bus to Srinagar, it was time to return&#1...

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They crossed the LoC to reunite with their estranged relatives here. Today, for those who took the bus to Srinagar, it was time to return—via the Wagah—to their ruined homes.

The Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus took the Wagah route to return six residents, four women and two men, of Muzaffarabad. ‘‘We had wished for decades to come to Srinagar and meet our relatives but we are ruined,’’ says Misra Begum. ‘‘I have lost my daughter-in-law, who was more dear to me then my daughter.’’

Misra was one of the 41 from Muzaffarabad who had come to J-K on the Srinagar bus. ‘‘Six of them learnt that their families had suffered losses back home. Since the road is damaged, they were sent through Wagah,’’ said a senior government officer. ‘‘Their issue was taken up with the Centre who readily gave them permission to take that route without a passport. Perhaps, it has happened for the first time in history.’’

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‘‘When they came here, it was a moment of great joy for us. Now we are bidding them a tearful farewell,’’ says Muneer, a relative of one of the visitors.

Says one of the visitors, Javed Iqbal Khawaja, from Muzaffarabad: ‘‘I got a call from my wife that she is injured and had a narrow escape. I do not know whether everybody in my home is safe or not.’’

Says his brother-in-law and host, Dr Shafgat Salam: ‘He is my wife’s cousin of my wife and had come here on September 22. Their family had left Kashmir at the time of partition and we saw each other for the first time. Now look at how they are leaving. While the fate of all his family members is not clear, it is certain that their entire property was destroyed.’’

Dr Salam says the tragedy could have been minimised if the LoC was more flexible. ‘‘The government has done a lot in opening the Muzaffarabad road but they should do more. We could have marched across the LoC to provide relief to our relatives,’’ he says.