Yet another family crosses over to India from PoK

Srinagar, Oct 11 (UNI) Farid Ahmed Gilani, along with his wife, had been forcibly sent across to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in 1993 for arms training, but today after more than 13 years, he returned with six small children to restart a peaceful life.

On the intervening night of October 9-10, troops in the Uri sector of north Kashmir's Baramulla district apprehended the couple and their six children -- four daughters and two sons -- when they had crossed the Line of Control (LoC) to enter India.

While his first child Zara is 11 year old, second daughter Azra is 9, son Ali Raza is 7, second son Hassan Raza is 5, third daughter Nazia 3 and fourth daughter Tabassum is just eight months old.

Despite being challenged by the Army patrol in the area, the family continued to move into the Indian side. After some time, Gilani surrendered and narrated his tale of more than 16 years in PoK and Pakistan before the Army authorities.

The surrender of Gilani family comes nearly a week after Maluk Tedua, a resident of Kalaroos in Kupwara, along with his wife Shameema, a PoK citizen, and son Bilal crossed the LoC from the Uri sector, on October 1, where they apprechended by Army troops.

The Army produced the Geelani family before the media at the XV Corps headquarters here today.

Interacting with journalists, Gilani, a resident of Rishigund, Kralapora in frontier district of Kupwara, was asked to go to PoK capital Muzaffarabad in 1993 by two Al Barq militants. Gilani said he agreed to go to PoK after he was allowed to take along his wife Tahira Begum.

His wife was pregnant at that time and after crossing over to Muzaffarabad from Athamuqam in Kupwara district, the couple stayed at Mallik Paiyan refugee camp for some time.

In Muzaffarabad, Gilani said he requested one Farooq to let him off, who after some persuasion, agreed. ''I then went to Rawalpindi and after a three-month stay there, came back to Muzaffarabad. Since then I had been living there and worked as an autorickshaw driver. I never wanted to join militancy and desired a peaceful life with my family back in Jammu and Kashmir,'' he added.

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