OUR ancestral village was located in the outskirts of Kharmang district in Gilgit-Baltistan. In 1971, it was feared that the Indian forces may attack the village, and the villagers were asked to evacuate and move to some safe place. All the 120 families left immediately. But the gallant soldiers of Pakistan Army saved our hometown.

Due to the geographical location of the village, it later became a border hamlet between India and Pakistan, and, thus, a ‘no-go’ area. In 1972, when the tensions between the two arch rivals subsided, my grandfather moved back to his native village. However, in 1999, his family and other villagers had to leave again due to deteriorating relationship between the two countries.

My father was 11 years old at the time and has vague memories about the migration. My grandfather and grandmother had seen a difficult time with the rest of the villagers. It was the place where they had celebrated, laughed and cried.

These poor downtrodden families are wandering in Skardu, with no piece of land to call their own. They have raised their voice at every forum, but the authorities have failed to pay heed to them.

Being an applicant, my father owns a bundle of archives. Over the years, he has met several notable people to plead his case. Some agreed and even pledged to have plots of land allocated to the affectees, but nothing happened on the ground.

It is strange that while the affectees of various towns and villages have been compensated, the people of our village have remained ignored. I wonder why.

Javed Hassan
Skardu

Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2022