A Marriage Of Convenience

Amir Mir November 27, 2000 00:00 IST A Marriage Of Convenience -0001-11-30T00:00:00+05:53

It'll be a symbolic reunification of the Kashmiri people,'' says Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Amanullah Khan, referring to his daughter Asma's November 19 marriage with Sajjad, son of the J&K Peoples Conference president, Abdul Ghani Lone, a senior APHC leader. The father of the bride also believes the marriage, held in Rawalpindi, could mark a new step towards a peaceful settlement of the lingering Kashmir dispute.

But there's more to the marriage than the obvious political implications. Asma Khan, Amanullah's only child, and Sajjad Ghani Lone first met in England some years ago when both were studying there, and those close to the Lone family say it was love at first sight. The Amanullah family was deported from England after living there till 1987. And it was only later, in Islamabad, that Sajjad and Asma could meet again.

After Sajjad returned to Kashmir, he joined the militancy and, along with elder brother Bilal Lone, was a senior associate of the then JKLF supremo Yasin Malik. Both Sajjad and Bilal were arrested along with Yasin in August...