Srinagar, Feb 10: “We couldn’t fight to get back Bhat uncle’s mortal remains; our existence had been made very difficult,” says Aijaz Ahmad Bhat, a nephew of Maqbool Bhat.
 Aijaz, who is presently pursuing Masters Degree in Psychology from Kashmir University, narrates how the Bhat family suffered after the Indian government hanged him.

 “The family suffered a huge setback after Bhat uncle was hanged. Each member of the family, young and old, was frequently interrogated and harassed by army and police,” Aijaz recalls.
 Aijaz is the son of Maqbool Bhat’s younger brother, Ghulam Nabi Bhat, who later died in an accident at Chanapora in 1994.
 “I was interrogated by army when I was studying in 6th standard,” Aijaz said.
 Aijaz’s elder brother, Pervaiz Ahmad, a research scholar in Kashmir University’s Chemistry Department says the Bhat clan lost all the elders after Maqbool Bhat was hanged. “My second uncle Manzoor Ahmad Bhat was killed in a fake gunfight after his arrest by Army in Trehgam. I am sure that it was the first case of custodial killing,” Ahmad told Greater Kashmir.
 Both Manzoor and Ghulam Nabi were actively associated with JKLF until their death.
 Maqbool Bhat’s hanging, Pervaiz adds, was nothing but a murder. “The Indian government didn’t even complete the formalities required to hand a person. They bypassed all norms,” he said. “We had no money to engage lawyers and seek his mortal remains,” Aijaz added.
 Maqbool Bhat is presently survived by wife and two sons, and a daughter—all living in Pakistan Administered Kashmir. Bhat’s elder son, Javaid Ahmad is an Agriculture Scientist at Peshawar University, and his another son, Showkat Maqbool Bhat is the president of the National Liberation Front while Lubna Maqbool, the daughter, is a Lecturer in English at Karachi University.
 Maqbool Bhat’s mother, Pervaiz said, died some years after his hanging. He said she was tortured in 1997 by the personnel of the dreaded Special Task Force.
 Pervaiz said the government of India doesn’t allow Maqbool Bhat’s family and his other relatives in PaK to visit the Valley. “We also want to go there, but the government doesn’t issue us the passports,” he said.