‘For years, our pain was invisible’
Srinagar, Mar 15: For Gulzar Ahmad, nothing has been the same since 1992. That year, terrorism took his beloved brother, leaving Gulzar and his family to navigate a life filled with fear, loss and unanswered questions.
Today, standing at Lok Bhavan Auditorium, holding an appointment letter handed by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Gulzar felt something he had not experienced in decades.
Speaking to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) after the appointment ceremony, Gulzar said he lost his brother to terrorism over thirty years ago. “For years, our pain was invisible. We watched governments come and go and everyone promised support, but nothing came. We were left alone with our grief,” he said.
He paused, looking at the letter in his hands and said, this is more than a job. This is my brother’s memory being honored. This is a message that our suffering is seen, our sacrifices matter and we are not forgotten.
Gulzar said on the decades of waiting and loss, “I walked through life carrying the weight of his absence. Every day was a reminder of what we lost and how the world moved on without acknowledging it. Today, for the first time, I feel that someone truly sees us, hears us and cares about our pain.”
He added, this is not just my family’s story. This is the story of every family who lost someone to terror and waited for decades for justice. Today, it feels like someone finally acknowledges our grief. That is priceless. (KNO)
