Pahalgam (J&K), Apr 23: A 30-year-old ‘ponywallah’ was among 26 persons, mostly tourists, who lost their lives in the deadly terrorist attack in this south Kashmir resort with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah turning up to offer ‘fatiha’ to him and hailing his courage to stand up against the armed assailants.
The ‘ponywallah’ (pony ride operator), Syed Adil Hussain Shah, was laid to rest at the ancestral graveyard at his Hapatnard village in Pahalgam with hundreds of mourners bidding him a tearful adieu and saluting his sacrifice.
“I visited Pahalgam today to offer ‘fatiha’ (prayer after burial) for brave-heart Shah, who was shot dead while trying to snatch a weapon from one of the terrorists in a courageous attempt to protect the tourists he had ferried on horseback from the parking area to Baisaran meadow.
“Met his grieving family and assured them of full support — Adil (Shah) was the sole breadwinner, and his extraordinary bravery and sacrifice will forever be remembered,” the chief minister wrote in a post shared by his office on X.
After offering prayers to the deceased, Abdullah, talking to reporters, expressed his condolences to all the victims and condemned the incident.
“The tourists had come to have a good time here and they were sent back in coffins. A poor labourer had left home to earn but died. I have heard that he tried to confront the militants and tried to snatch the gun before getting attacked,” he said.
He assured the family of the deceased that his government would take care of them. “We are with them and will help them as much as we can.”
Earlier, local Ghulam Hassan who led the funeral prayers of Shah lauded the sacrifice of the youth and said, “We should always be ready to die for others, whether a Sikh, Pandit or a Muslim. That is what our religion teaches us.”
Condemning the cowardly attack on the tourists, he said the women who were wailing at Baisaran, the scene of the attack, are “our sisters and our hearts are feeling their pain”.
“We salute our brother who sacrificed his life trying to save the tourists. He will be rewarded by Allah for his deeds. I pray nobody sees their loved ones die like this,” he said in his sermon before the burial.
Syed Naushad, younger brother of Shah, said he had gone to Pahalgam for work.
“He used to take tourists on pony rides to Baisaran. On Tuesday when terrorists attacked tourists, my brother tried to stop them. A tourist whose father was killed in the attack told me about the heroic act of my brother at SMHS hospital,” he said, adding the terrorists hit Shah thrice with bullets in the chest.
He termed the sacrifice of his brother as a “proud moment” for the family and friends but said “there is also sadness everywhere.”
Shah’s sister Asma said they came to know about his killing at around 10 pm on Tuesday.
“In the morning, I told him not to go as if I knew something bad was going to happen. But he did not listen to me and left,” she said, describing his brother as a daring man always ready to support others.
Shah’s father, Syed Haider Shah, said he was devastated by his son’s killing.
“He was young and kind among all the siblings. He left at 8 in the morning and did not come back. Many boys from this village go to Pahalgam to find some work but who knew this was going to happen. The terrorists killed my son only because he confronted them and told them not to harm tourists,” the grieving father said.
He said there was no mobile connectivity in Baisaran. “When he did not return in the evening, we started calling him but nobody picked up the phone.” (PTI)
