Syed Adil Shah’s grieving family say they are proud of his sacrifice. The Kashmiri Muslim horseman was killed trying to save tourists in last week’s attack.
Shah, 30, had taken visitors on his pony up to the meadows near Pahalgam, a lush green field nestled beneath snow-capped Himalayan peaks, on April 22 when gunmen emerged from the treelines.
Holidaymakers were enjoying the tranquil meadows when at least three gunmen, still at large despite a massive search, swept the crowds with automatic gunfire, killing 26 men, including Shah.
“He showed his humanity, and that allows us to live on,” his inconsolable father, Syed Haidar Shah, said from their modest home nestled on wooded slopes. “He sacrificed his own life while trying to save innocent visitors.”
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Shah was the only Kashmiri killed in the attack. All of the dead were Indians, except for one tourist from neighbouring Nepal. Most were Hindus.
It was the worst attack on civilians for a quarter of a century in Muslim-majority Kashmir. The region has been a touchstone for conflict for decades between nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan, who both claim it.
Survivors said the gunmen separated the men, asked several about their religion, and shot them at close range.
They also reported that the gunmen ordered some of the men to recite the Muslim declaration of faith. Those who could not were shot.
“He left home that morning after three days of rain to take tourists around on his pony as usual,” Syed Haidar Shah said. “Who knew that this was the last time?”
Indian police say the gunmen are members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), designated a terrorist organisation by the United Nations. Police also said two are Pakistani citizens.
Pakistan, on the other hand, has denied any role in the Pahalgam attack and responded to India’s punishing diplomatic sanctions – including withdrawing visas, closing the main border and deporting citizens – with tit-for-tat restrictions.
Antagonistic statements have prompted worries of a spiral into military action, with calls from several nations for restraint.
Indians from Kashmir have reported harassment and intimidation in the wake of the attack.
Commentators such as Shashi Tharoor, writing in the Indian Express, pointed to the “heroism” of Kashmiris like Shah and others who helped in the aftermath, saying their courage should be an opportunity to build “national unity” not division.
Shah’s brother, Naushad Hussain, described his horror at hearing reports of the shooting. He set off for the nearest hospital fearing the worst after Shah did not answer his telephone.
“Many injured and dead people were being brought to Pahalgam hospital, but I was not allowed to go in to look for my brother,” Hussain said, speaking in their home village of Hapatnar.
“One Indian tourist, a woman outside the hospital, told me she was saved by a local ponyman when her husband was killed,” Hussain said. “She said the local man was shot while trying to hold the attacker back.”
It was only hours later, after following ambulances carrying the dead to the main city of Srinagar, that he discovered that the dead ponyman was his brother Shah.
“There, I saw my brother’s body lying on a stretcher with his shirt torn,” Hussain said.
He said he could see “three bullet wounds on his body, one across his neck and two on his upper chest”.
Hussain said he also saw marks on his brother’s body. “I could see bruises on his left arm and wrists, which to me clearly indicated he had fought with the attacker,” he said.
His father said his son had a very “sharp sense of right and wrong”.
“We are not alone in our grief,” Shah senior said. “There are 25 other families, but I am proud of what my son did”.
