Peace bus fails to reunite 30 Skardu families
Listen To Article
Save Article
Print Article
Send Article To Friend
Write To Editor
Comment On Article
Divided members dying to cross LoC since 1947
Mir TariqBandipore, Jan 19: Despite reopening of Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road in 2005, the residents of Skardu who are settled in this north Kashmir district for past 60 years, have not been allowed to cross over to Pakistan administered Kashmir (PaK) to meet their relatives.
More than 30 families of Skardu putting up at Wudar Bagh here have intermingled with Kashmiris and have adopted the Kashmiri culture but they still yearn to cross the Line of Control (LoC) to meet their relatives whom they have not met since 1947.“We were overjoyed on the reopening of Srinagar-Muzzffarabad road. We thought we will be allowed to go to the other side and meet our relatives but our joy was short lived,” says Ghulam Abass Khan Balti, 30, who was born and brought up here. Khan speaks fluent Kashmiri and is also well versed with Balti, his mother tongue.Khan said that along with few others he applied for the travel documents in 2005 but does not know what happened to his application.Khan says he is keen to know about his ancestors and wants to trace his roots. “We are waiting for the permission. Cold response by the authorities proves that opening of Srinagar-Muzaffrabad road was nothing more than a political gimmick,” Khan says.“Before partition we used to move freely between Skardu and Kashmir as there was no boundary,” recollects 85-year-old Ghulam Ali Khan.According to Ali he along with his grandfather used to visit Kashmir with dry fruits and other items. “We used to sell our products here and return to Skardu,” he says.Ali says that he and his grandfather used to trek all the way from Skardu through Gurez and Bandipore was the first town from where they used to start their business.He says that in 1947 he and his grandfather along with other traders from Skardu had come on a usual business trip but couldn’t return as the Line of Control (LoC) was drawn and they were not allowed to return to the other side. “My grandfather died here. I too am very old now. It seems I will never get a chance to return and see what happened to my relatives,” Ali said breaking down.These residents say that they have adopted the Kashmiri culture and language and have become a part of Valley but accuse the government of ignoring them. They continue to live at a Wudar (small peak) chosen by their grandfathers. They say that their area sans electricity, water and other basic amenities. They say that this year their names were included in the voter list. “Officials told us that after our names figure in the voter list we will get the basic amenities.”

SkarduSkardu is the main town and capital of Baltistan district, one of the districts making up Pakistan's Northern Areas (also part of the Pakistani-administered part of Kashmir). Skardu borders Kargil district to the east, Astore to the south, Kashmir and Pakistan administered Kashmir to the south east and Gilgit district in the west.
Skardu
is located in the 10 km wide by 40 km long Skardu Valley, at the confluence of the Indus river (flowing from near Kailash in Tibet and through neighbouring Ladakh before reaching Balistan) and the Shigar river. Skardu is situated at an altitude of nearly 2,500 m (8,200 feet), the town is surrounded by grey-brown coloured mountains, which hide the 8,000 metre peaks of the nearby Karakoram range.