Nazish Nazir – Thousands of people went missing in the devastating October 8, 2005 earthquake in Azad Kashmir. For many families, years of uncertainty eventually gave way to a painful acceptance that their loved ones were no longer alive.
But not every family was able to reach that conclusion.
In Muzaffarabad, the family of Nazish Nazir has spent 21 years waiting for an answer.
Nazish was 15 when she left home for school on the morning of October 8, 2005. She never returned.
When the earthquake struck, Nazish’s parents rushed to her school. The scene was one of complete devastation. Part of the building had collapsed, children were trapped beneath the rubble and rescue workers were searching for survivors.
Her parents searched desperately for their daughter, but Nazish was nowhere to be found.
As rescue operations continued, injured children were taken to hospitals and relief centres. Some were reunited with their families. Others were identified among the dead.
But there was no confirmed information about Nazish.
The family was later told that some severely injured children had been airlifted to Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Some children who survived the disaster told Nazish’s parents that she might have been injured and had suffered a serious head injury.
With that information, the family travelled to Islamabad.
They searched hospitals, medical camps and relief centres. Whenever they heard about an unidentified or injured child, they went there, carrying Nazish’s photograph and describing her appearance.
But they could not find her.
The search continued for almost six months.
Then came another source of hope.
A photograph published in the Lahore-based daily Nawa-i-Waqt showed an injured girl. According to Nazish’s family, they recognised the girl as their daughter.
The girl had a bandage around her head and an injured arm. Her family believed that the photograph showed Nazish alive after the earthquake.
But the photograph created another question:
If this was Nazish, where was she?
The family continued searching, but no trace of the girl could be found.
Years later, another report drew their attention.
A Los Angeles Times report published on November 23, 2005, described an injured girl who had been brought from Muzaffarabad to Islamabad following the earthquake.
According to the report, the girl had suffered a head injury and appeared to have lost her memory. She could not provide reliable information about her name or her home.
Because her identity was unknown, the report used the fictional name “Ayesha.”
For Nazish’s family, the report raised the possibility that the unidentified girl could have been their daughter.
Could Nazish have suffered a head injury severe enough to affect her memory?
Could she have been unable to tell anyone her name or where she came from?
Could someone have taken her in after the earthquake, without knowing her real identity?
Could she have been moved elsewhere for medical treatment?
These are possibilities the family has considered over the years.
But none of them has ever been confirmed.
There is no definitive evidence establishing that the unidentified girl described in the Los Angeles Times report was Nazish.
At the same time, the family has never received definitive evidence confirming her death.
That uncertainty has kept their search alive.
Nazish Nazir – Twenty-one years later
On October 8, 2026, it will be 21 years since the earthquake changed the lives of millions of people across the region.
If Nazish is alive, she would now be around 36 years old.
Twenty-one years ago, she was a 15-year-old schoolgirl who left home on an ordinary morning.
Today, she could be somewhere living a life completely separate from the family she left behind.
Perhaps she remembers her childhood.
Perhaps she remembers Muzaffarabad.
Perhaps she remembers her parents.
Or perhaps, because of what may have happened after the earthquake, she has no memory of where she came from.
In Muzaffarabad, her family is still waiting.
They have a few old photographs, newspaper reports and memories from 21 years ago.
What they do not have is an answer.
There is no confirmed evidence that Nazish is alive.
There is also no definitive evidence confirming her death.
For most families, such uncertainty would eventually become unbearable.
For Nazish’s family, however, that uncertainty has become a reason to keep hoping.
And so, 21 years later, the search for Nazish Nazir remains unfinished.
