Unable to trace his son since 2006, Kupwara man appeals for assistance

Srinagar, Aug 21: Ten years on, an ailing father from Kupwara has been unable to locate his son who went missing from Gujarat’s Barooq Zilla.
Narrating his ordeal, Hakeem Din Kissana, a resident of Rajpora, Handwara, said his son, Mohammad Ashraf, went missing from Darul Aloom Arbia in 2006.
“He was my elder son. He went to Gujarat to do a course in Islamic studies, for his very fond of Islamiyat,” he said.
A labourer by profession, Kissana has three daughters and one more son.
“Ashraf was different. He was caring and loved by everyone in the family. We have been missing him a lot. In his absence, we have been living a miserable life, not able to accept that he is not with us,” he said.
He said he searched for his son everywhere and appealed the government to provide him assistance.
“Now ten years have passed, he is still not traceable. The law considers him missing. There is a provision of assistance, but so far we have not been given any kind of help,” he said.
Kassana claims to have completed all formalities required to get assistance from the government.
“I went to every platform, but could not trace the whereabouts of my son. I went to the Deputy Commissioner (DC) concerned and even to the Divisional Commissioner, who asked the DC to consider my case for assistance,” he said.
He appealed Governor, N N Vohra, to intervene.
The DC, Kupwara, Khalid Jehangir, said Ashraf has not been declared dead yet by the committee looking after the disappearance cases.
“The committee examining his case will be meeting in a couple of days. Once it declares him dead, further action would be initiated,” he said.