In the tranquil Baisaran Valley, yesterday's terrorist attack shattered India's peace, killing 26 people, mostly tourists. The assault, claimed by The Resistance Front, a Lashkar-e-Taiba proxy, claimed one local hero: Syed Adil Hussain Shah, a 30-year-old pony ride operator whose fearless stand against the attackers has stirred a region’s grief and pride.
Shah, the sole breadwinner for his family in Hapatnard village, made a living by leading tourists on ponies to Baisaran meadow. Yesterday was no different. He left home at 8 am, never to return. His family learnt of his death only at around 10pm last night after frantically trying to reach him all evening.
As stories began to pour in from eyewitnesses, the story of his bravery has stirred a nation's grief even more. It is said that when militants struck, he confronted them, attempting to wrest a rifle from one to protect a tourist. Despite a valiant fight, three bullets to the chest ended his life, leaving him the only local among the victims. “My brother tried to stop them,” said his younger brother, Syed Naushad, who learned of Shah’s bravery from a tourist at SMHS hospital.
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Hundreds mourned at Shah’s ancestral graveyard, where Chief Minister Omar Abdullah offered fatiha. “I visited Pahalgam today to offer ‘fatiha’ for brave-heart Shah, who was shot dead while trying to snatch a weapon from one of the terrorists,” Abdullah wrote on X, promising full support to Shah’s family. He told reporters, “I have heard that he tried to confront the militants and tried to snatch the gun before getting attacked.”
Shah’s family grapples with loss and honor. “A tourist whose father was killed told me about the heroic act of my brother,” Naushad said, calling it a “proud moment” despite the sorrow.
His sister Asma, who had a premonition, recalled, “I told him not to go as if I knew something bad was going to happen.” His father, an inconsolable Syed Haider Shah, said, “The terrorists killed my son only because he confronted them and told them not to harm tourists.” As his family grapples with grief, the nation salutes its unspoken hero.
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