A young police officer from Indian –held Kashmir has tied the knot with a girl from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) bonds blossomed at a time when the Indian state Police grappled with protests in the Valley.
Jammu and Kashmir Police sub-inspector Owais Geelani, married Faiza Geelani, a resident of Muzaffarabad in AJK at a function here where only the groom’s close relatives and friends were in attendance due to the ongoing unrest.
The marriage was solemnised in a hotel here at a time when the cops have borne the brunt of protesters’ ire in the Valley that has been rocked by nearly two-month-long unrest. The two families are related to each other but were separated during the Partition.
The ‘Nikkah’ was performed in Muzaffarabad in 2014 when Shabir Geelani, father of the groom, had travelled to AJK to visit his divided family on the ‘Karavan-e-Aman’ (the Peace Caravan) bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad.
Owais’ marriage with Faiza, a post-graduate in education, planning and management from the National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad was solemnised on Tuesday.
“The people living along the LoC have been worst sufferers of the conflict and acrimony between India and Pakistan. I think the opening of all traditional routes along the LoC would increase people-to-people contact, leading to better understanding between the people on two sides of the LoC,” Shabbir, who retired from police department as SSP in 2014, said in Srinagar on Friday.
“Once that happens, may be one day, the governments of two sides will also understand each other better and find a way out of the decades-old uncertainty,” he added.
Tensions between India and Pakistan have risen after Burhan Wani, a Hizbul Mujahideen leader was shot dead by Indian Forces. Curfew has been imposed in occupied Kashmir for 57 days now depriving residents of basic necessities like food and healthcare.