A Keighley businessman is anxious for the safety of his brother and niece who were badly injured in an incident on the Pakistan-India border.
Younis Qamar has been told that neighbours of his relatives were killed when shells landed on the Pakistani village of Danna last Friday. He believes they were the latest victims of long-running strife over independence for the part of the Kashmir region now within the Indian borders. Mr Qamar, 44, a building contractor, is general secretary of Keighley's Sangat Community Centre, vice-chairman of Keighley Asian Business Forum and a board member of the Single Regeneration Budget.
He moved to England in 1961 as a child but remains close to family members, including two brothers, who live in the part of Kashmir lying within Pakistan.
Mr Qamar received a phone call on Sunday evening telling him one of the shells landed in his family's garden and destroyed most of the house. His brother Mohammed Arif received several shrapnel wounds and his five-year-old niece Razawana Arif was hit in the head with two pieces of metal.
Mr Qamar says doctors were unable to remove the last piece of shrapnel from Mohammed's back because he suffers from sugar diabetes. Razawana is now stable following surgery.
Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article