Srinagar, Dec 13: After Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s event for next of kin (NoKs) of terror victims concluded at Lok Bhavan in Srinagar, a young woman stood outside the hall clutching her appointment letter tightly. Pakiza Riyaz, from south Kashmir’s Anantnag district was there in memory of her grandmother, who raised her from infancy.
Pakiza’s voice quivered as she spoke to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), expressing her happiness upon receiving the appointment.
“We have struggled a lot to reach this point. My father was martyred when I was just six months old. Since then, only my grandmother and I have been together. She became my mother, my father, my everything,” she said, her words soft but laden with emotion.
She recounted that her grandmother was the sole breadwinner, surviving on a small pension after her husband passed away years ago. “There were days when we didn’t even have enough money for food or clothes,” Pakiza said. “But my grandmother never let me feel alone. She hid her pain, worked tirelessly, and made sure I could go to school. Every time I fell, she lifted me. Every time I lost hope, she gave me courage.”
For years, the duo went from one office to another – filing applications, meeting officials, and waiting for someone to listen. “We went to the Secretariat, the DC office, countless times,” she said. “No one did anything for us. No one even looked at us properly. Only LG Sinha understood our pain.”
Her voice broke as she remembered her grandmother. “Today, this letter is not just for me; it’s for my grandmother. She has suffered enough. LG Sinha gave us respect, recognition, and the peace we waited 25 years for,” she added.
Earlier inside the hall, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha described the initiative as “a tribute to the courage and resilience of families who faced the worst of terror but never lost faith”. (KNO)
