Ex-ultra's wife from PoK is sarpanch

Ehsan Fazili

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, November 13

A woman from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), who is married and settled in Kashmir, has been elected unopposed as the sarpanch of the Lolab area in frontier Kupwara district.

The woman, Arifa Begum, originally from Muzaffarabad in PoK came to Kashmir via Nepal in 2010 with her husband Ghulam Mohammad Mir of Khumriyal village in Lolab. She filed her nomination papers for the sarpanch and panch for halqa Khumriyal (B).

Arifa (35) filed her papers with all requisite documents. Her halqa will go to the polls in the second phase of the panchayat elections. The scrutiny of nomination papers was held on November 3 and the last day of withdrawal of nominations was November 5.

An official said Arifa was declared elected unopposed on the last day of withdrawal of nominations.

The certificate of election as sarpanch is, however, yet to be issued to Arifa.

Arifa’s husband Ghulam Mohammad Mir had crossed over for arms training in 2001 and lived in PoK till 2010.

Sources said Mir had married Arifa in PoK and both returned to Kashmir eight years ago.

They said adequate security cover was provided to the elected sarpanch like other candidates.

The nine-phased panchayat elections will begin from November 17 and end on December 11. The notification for the last and ninth phase will be issued on Wednesday.

Mir’s returned to Kashmir under the J&K Government's rehabilitation policy of 2010 for former militants living in Pakistan and PoK.

Under the rehabilitation policy, 377 former militants along with 864 family members have returned to Kashmir via Nepal and Bangladesh, according to government records.