A Ladakhi divided family got an opportunity to meet their relative on this part of the line of control after 47 years. A women named Zaiba (46) from Chulunkha village of turtuk valley of Leh district Zaiba was a teenager (16) when she was separated from her mother in December 1971 after Indian army captured their village. Then the village chulunkha was under Gnagchey district of Pakistan administered Baltistan area.
Zaiba who resides in Manthal area in Skardu city. The area where most of the refugees from Kargil and leh are inhabitant.
Zaiba’s Mother Khatija alias Api Khati who is 92 become very emotional when she met her daughter after long time of separation.
Recently In an interview with Pakistani newspapers zaiba had admitted that Zaiba’s Cousin Ghulam Rasool, who migrated to the Pakistani side in 1971 as a 12-year-old boy, is becoming frustrated with the wait.
“The people of Neelum Valley in PaK are allowed to cross the LoC and meet their families,” she says. “We thought it would be the same for us in Gilgit-Baltistan, but both governments don’t seem keen on that”.
Zaiba Said, “She use to listen her mother’s audio cassettes and exchange photographs and letters in the past 47 years “.
Meanwhile people across turtuk valley are visiting chulunkha to meet the people of the divided family who have visited after long time. However the people says that there is a lot of issues such as visa complexities for the people who wanted to visit this side.
Speaking on Phone Ghulam Hussain Gullu from Turtuk Tyakshi said, “This is one aspect of the sufferings of divided families and there is need to think over it and to open these routes as soon as possible”. It’s pertinent to mention here that the divided families issue across the line of control in Ladakh (Kargil-Leh) and Gilgit Balistan (PaK) is an unaddressed issue. There are more than 15 thousand divided families. Many families have lost their first generation without seeing their family members across the LoC. People across LoC of this region demanding of opening Kargil-Skardu, Turtuk Khapulu. Gultari-Drass routes for trade and travel on humanitarian ground. But both in India and Pakistan no one seems ready to address their issues. Most of the people in this region thinks that they don’t have such influential political voice and majority of the people are either middle class or pople that’s why their issue has been brushed under the carpet.