She died waiting for her son: Kishtwar mother's final plea to terrorist son goes unanswered

On her deathbed, an elderly, helpless mother pleaded with his terrorist son to give up his weapons and return, but her son's heart remained unfulfilled. She departed this world. The woman died waiting for her son in a remote village in Kishtwar.

86-year-old Janna Begum's last wish was to see her son return home. Her son, Riyaz Ahmed, is a member of the A-plus category proscribed terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen with a bounty of ₹10 lakh on his head. He was lured into terrorism in 2010 by a terrorist commander.

Riyaz Ahmed, a self-styled commander of the banned Hizbul Mujahideen terror outfit, not only betrayed his motherland but also deceived his mother, who gave her birth.

After getting arms training from across the border, Riyaz Ahmed is active in the Kishtwar and Doda districts.

Riyaz's father, Mohammad Ramzan, said that Riyaz was pressured to join Hizbul by another terrorist, Rizwan. However, Rizwan later surrendered and is living with his family.

He said his wife, Janna Begum, had been ill for a long time. She hoped that Riyaz would return. Meanwhile, an old video also circulated in which she was seen appealing to Riyaz to give up violence and return home.

'This path will lead to destruction.'

In the video, the parents clearly told him that the path he had chosen would lead him to destruction. Riyaz's father, Ramjan, said that his mother left with the wish that her son should bury her. "I appeal again to him to lay down his arms and return home. We are Indians. This is not 'jihad'. The real 'jihad' is to serve one's elderly parents and help the poor."

Ramjan directly blamed Pakistan and its agents for radicalizing innocent Muslim youth in the name of "Jihad". A police officer said that it would be better if Riyaz listened to his parents.

The village of Janna Begum in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir was gripped by grief and heartbreak as the story of the helpless mother's final moments unfolded—a mother whose last wish was denied by the very son she had pleaded with for years.

Her son, Riaz Ahmed, once a part of her home, had long ago abandoned his family to join the ranks of Hizbul Mujahideen.

Carrying a bounty of ₹10 lakh on his head, Ahmed never returned, not even to shoulder the coffin of the woman who gave him life.

For months, Jana Begum's voice echoed in the valley, her appeals piercing the silence of terror: "What kind of jihad is this, where parents are abandoned?"

Her words were not just a plea to her son but a cry against the cruelty of extremism that tears families apart. Her husband, Mohammad Ramzan, joined her in desperation, urging their son to renounce violence and come home. But their appeals fell on deaf ears.

Four days ago, as mourners gathered to lay Begum to rest, her son's absence was a haunting reminder of the devastating toll of terrorism.