SRINAGAR, Aug 18: Relatives of thousands of people who have gone missing in occupied Kashmir since the launch of anti-Indian rebellion 14 years ago lit candles in their memory on Monday.

“Today’s candle lighting is symbolic of the ray of hope with which we have been fighting for our demands,” said Parveena Ahanger, head of the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP).

She said the government had not responded to their longstanding demand for a commission of inquiry to probe the disappearances.

Ahanger’s son disappeared in 1990 after his alleged arrest by the security forces in Srinagar.

“We are living with a ray of hope that one day we will come to know the whereabouts of our beloved ones,” she said.

“Our agony should end. We should be informed whether they are dead or alive,” Ahanger told reporters.

The government says 3,931 people have disappeared in Kashmir since the eruption of an anti-Indian rebellion in the scenic Himalayan region in 1989.

Kashmir’s leading human rights activist Pervez Imroz puts the figure at 8,000, and says most of the victims have disappeared after their arrest by the security forces.

Officials say only a small number of people went missing after their arrest. They say many of the missing youths crossed over to Azad Kashmir for arms training with Mujahideen groups.—AFP