Message for Mufti: ‘I hope I get my son back’

POTA’s ‘first family’ simply can’t wait to shake off that dubious honour, can’t wait for Mufti Mohammed Sayeed to m...

POTA’s ‘first family’ simply can’t wait to shake off that dubious honour, can’t wait for Mufti Mohammed Sayeed to make good his promise, sewn up in the Common Minimum Programme, to review the cases of all those who’ve been arrested under the act in Jammu and Kashmir.

Ghulam Mohammad Dar was the first individual in the state to be booked under POTA—it was then known as the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance—for allegedly sheltering militants in his home in Safakadal in Srinagar.

Since his arrest in November last year, his wife, two little sons and widowed mother have survived on hope and borrowed money. Now, they’re smiling for the first time in 11 months, hanging on to every word the chief minister designate has said about POTA.

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‘‘I think the government will come to the aid of my son, as well as the sons of all who have been arrested under this Act. All mothers and families are hopeful of getting back their sons and their property,’’ 80-year-old Jana Begum, Dar’s mother, told The Indian Express.

Around 100 cases of POTA have been registered in J&K since November last year. Dar, a carpet weaver, was arrested on the night of November 25 and charged with sheltering Al Badr militants. The day after his arrest, the J&K Police sealed his house and pasted a notice on the door: ‘‘The Government of Jammu and Kashmir has seized this house belonging to Ghulam Muhammad Dar under Section 8 and 9 of Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance POTO. Dar has been harbouring militants and a search of the house had yielded a pistol and a wireless set.’’

His wife Hasina, her two sons and Jana Begum spent a week on the cold streets before their house was restored to them. That was the last good thing to have happened to the Dars: they ran out of money and supporters, and Hasina had to transfer her sons—seven-year-old Fayaz and five-year-old Shabaz—from English medium schools to ordinary schools.

‘‘There have been several nights when we went to sleep hungry,’’ said the 36-year-old, who started weaving pashmina to get some food on the table. ‘‘Relatives and neighbours did donate foodgrains initially, but even that stopped. Hopefully, the new government will heal the wounds of those of us who’ve suffered.’’ The family hasn’t even been able to visit Dar, who is lodged in Kotbhalwal jail in Jammu.