Smile after seven long months of struggle, waiting

Two court holidays stand between Iftikhar Gilani and his wife and two sons. But Aanisa Gilani isn’t fretting too much — so what if the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate will pass the final orders for Gilani’s release only on Monday? ‘‘Itne mahine intezaar karne ke baad, aur teen din sahi.’’

‘‘Itne mahine’’ translates into seven months and a lifetime for Aanisa, the daughter of Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Her husband’s arrest followed her father’s so closely that she’s a bit wary of celebrating just yet.

Instead, she will accept all congratulations only after she sees the court order releasing her husband. ‘‘Itne taarikh ke peechee bhagne ke baad ek aur date sahi (We’ve been given hope so many times in the past, we can wait a longer.’’

The news Aanisa has been waiting for since June 9, 2002 — when Gilani was arrested and charged under the Official Secrets Act — reached her only in the evening. The fog of anxiety around her face lifted, and she smiled.

‘‘I’m grateful to God and to all the journalists and lawyers and everybody else who supported us throughout our ordeal.’’

In fact, Aanisa had visited her husband at Tihar Jail on Thursday, the day before the government withdrew its case against him.

‘‘Woh bahut mayoos ho gaye the (He had sunk into gloom). I hope he has heard the news now.’’

It was tough enough for Aanisa to deal with suspicious neighbours after their home at Khirki Extension was raided and Gilani arrested. What was tougher was explaining his absence to their little sons.

Aanisa said she told five-year-old Abyaz — who started his schooling this year — and three-year-old Mujadid that Abba had to go away for an assignment.

‘‘I just told the children that he was away on work.’’ It was a necessary deception that she managed to sustain through her husband’s seven-month incarceration. ‘‘Bhagdaud karni padi thi thodi bahut,’’ is how she describes her trips to Tis Hazari for the court hearings and to Tihar Jail twice a week.

Those journeys has now made her familiar with the provisions and statutes of the Official Secrets Act, under which Gilani, a correspondent for Kashmir Times and the Lahore-based Daily Times, had been charged. ‘‘I knew he was innocent throughout. I’m glad that his innocence has finally been proved.’’

And her neighbours are already treating her better. ‘‘Things changed after they heard that the Military Intelligence gave my husband a clean chit.’’