Amid unrest in Kashmir Valley, Srinagar police officer ties knot with girl from PoK

Owais Geelani, a sub-inspector with J&K police, married Faiza Geelani, a resident of Muzaffarabad in PoK.

Srinagar: A young police officer from Kashmir has tied the knot with a girl from PoK as cross-LoC bonds blossomed at a time when the state Police grappled with pro- Pakistan protests in the Valley.

Owais Geelani, a sub-inspector with Jammu and Kashmir Police, married Faiza Geelani, a resident of Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir(PoK), at a function here where only the groom's close relatives and friends were in attendance due to the ongoing unrest.

The marriage was solemnised in a hotel here at a time when the cops have borne the brunt of protesters' ire in the Valley that has been rocked by nearly two-month-long unrest. The two families are related to each other but were separated during the Partition.

The 'Nikkah' was performed in Muzaffarabad in 2014 when Shabir Geelani, father of the groom, had travelled to PoK to visit his divided family on the 'Karavan-e-Aman' (the Peace Caravan) bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad.

"The wedding ceremony had to be cancelled several times due to the prevailing situation during which the cross-LoC bus service was suspended for many days. Finally, when the bus service resumed, the bride and her close family members arrived here on Monday for the function," Geelani senior, who himself retired from Police department as SSP in 2014, told PTI here today.

Owais' marriage with Faiza, a post-graduate in education, planning and management from National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad was solemnised on Tuesday.

The wedding comes at a time when the local cops, who are battling the protesters across the Valley, have been threatened by militants to stay away from their duties. Houses of some cops have been ransacked by mobs since the current unrest began in Kashmir on July 9, a day after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter with security forces.