 Early Times Report
Jammu, Jan 31: A village of Kishtwar was gripped by grief and heartbreak as the story of Jana Begum’s final moments unfolded—a mother whose last wish was denied by the very son she had pleaded with for years.
Her son, Riaz Ahmed, once a part of her home, had long ago abandoned his family to join the ranks of Hizbul Mujahideen.
Carrying a bounty of ₹10 lakh on his head, Ahmed never returned, not even to shoulder the coffin of the woman who gave him life.
For months, Jana Begum’s voice echoed in the valley, her appeals piercing the silence of terror: “What kind of jihad is this, where parents are abandoned?”
Her words were not just a plea to her son but a cry against the cruelty of extremism that tears families apart. Her husband, Mohammad Ramzan, joined her in desperation, urging their son to renounce violence and come home. But their appeals fell on deaf ears.
Three days ago, as mourners gathered to lay Begum to rest, her son’s absence was a haunting reminder of the devastating toll of terrorism.
The coffin was lowered without the touch of the son she longed for, her final wish left unfulfilled. In that moment, her story became the story of countless mothers across Jammu and Kashmir—mothers who wait endlessly, who pray in vain, and who die with the ache of separation carved deep into their hearts.
Jana Begum’s tragedy is not just personal; it is emblematic of the human cost of militancy. Her empty coffin without her son’s shoulder stands as a symbol of broken families, shattered dreams, and the merciless grip of violence that robs parents of their children and children of their humanity. |
