NEW DELHI: The family of Syed Adil Shah , the Kashmiri pony ride operator killed while trying to protect tourists during the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack , say they are proud of his 'sacrifice' as they mourn his loss.
Shah, 30, had been guiding visitors on his pony to the scenic meadows near Pahalgam — a lush green expanse surrounded by Himalayan peaks — where terrorists opened fire on tourists, killing 26 people.
According to his family, Shah was the only local resident among the dead.
"He sacrificed his own life while trying to save innocent tourists," said his father, Syed Haidar Shah, to news agency AFP.
"He showed his humanity and that allows us to live on," he added.
Survivors recounted that the terrorists singled out men, questioned them about their religion and shot them at point-blank range.
Shah had left for work on the morning of the attack after a spell of three days of rain. “He left home that morning after three days of rain to take tourists around on his pony as usual,” his father recalled. “Who knew that this was the last time?”
Shah’s brother, Naushad Hussain, said he rushed to the nearest hospital in panic after Shah didn’t answer his phone and news of the shooting spread.
"Many injured and dead people were being brought to Pahalgam hospital but I was not allowed to go in to look for my brother," said Hussain from their village in Hapatnar.
"One tourist, a woman outside the hospital, told Naushad she was saved by a local pony man when her husband was killed," he recalled.
"She said the local man was shot while trying to hold the attacker back."
Hours later, after trailing ambulances carrying bodies to Srinagar, he found his brother lying lifeless on a stretcher.
"There, I saw my brother's body lying on a stretcher with his shirt torn," said Hussain.
He described seeing "three bullet wounds on his body, one across his neck and two on his upper chest."
Hussain also noticed signs of a struggle. "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 Shah had always possessed a strong moral compass. “My son had a very sharp sense of right and wrong,” he said.
"We are not alone in our grief," Shah senior added. "There are 25 other families, but I am proud of what my son did."
The Pahalgam terror attack
The Pahalgam massacre stands as one of the deadliest attacks in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
A joint team comprising Army personnel, Jammu & Kashmir police, and civil administration officials found that trousers of nearly 20 male victims had been unzipped or pulled down—an apparent confirmation that the terrorists had subjected them to a brutal, faith-based screening before executing them.
According to officials involved in the initial on-ground examination of the bodies, the lower garments of 20 out of 26 victims were forcibly dislodged, exposing their underwear or private parts. This detail came to light only during the detailed inspection of the bullet-riddled corpses, likely undertaken to document precise observations for inclusion in the FIR.
While relatives of the deceased may not have noticed the state of the clothing due to the overwhelming grief, and the recovery staff simply covered the bodies with shrouds, the officers conducting the detailed check noticed what they described as a "medievalesque" method used by the terrorists to determine the faith of the victims.
Eyewitnesses have corroborated this, stating that the attackers had demanded identity proofs like Aadhaar cards or driving licences, asked the victims to recite the kalma—an Islamic declaration of faith—and even ordered them to lower their pants to check for circumcision.
Once confirmed to be Hindus through these three steps, the gunmen reportedly shot the men at close range. Of the 26 people killed in the April 22 massacre, 25 were Hindu men.
Meanwhile, the probe into the killings is intensifying. Officials said that around 70 overground workers (OGWs) and suspected terror sympathisers from areas including Tral, Pulwama, Anantnag, and Kulgam are currently under investigation.
"Initially, the probe team rounded up 1,500 OGWs to examine their possible role. These have been narrowed down to 70 OGWs strongly suspected to have helped Pahalgam attack team with logistics. We hope to narrow the search further and get to the real culprits soon," a J&K administration officer said.
The attack has been widely condemned and is one of the deadliest in Jammu & Kashmir since the revocation of Article 370 in 2019.
Shah, 30, had been guiding visitors on his pony to the scenic meadows near Pahalgam — a lush green expanse surrounded by Himalayan peaks — where terrorists opened fire on tourists, killing 26 people.
According to his family, Shah was the only local resident among the dead.
"He sacrificed his own life while trying to save innocent tourists," said his father, Syed Haidar Shah, to news agency AFP.
"He showed his humanity and that allows us to live on," he added.
Survivors recounted that the terrorists singled out men, questioned them about their religion and shot them at point-blank range.
Shah had left for work on the morning of the attack after a spell of three days of rain. “He left home that morning after three days of rain to take tourists around on his pony as usual,” his father recalled. “Who knew that this was the last time?”
Shah’s brother, Naushad Hussain, said he rushed to the nearest hospital in panic after Shah didn’t answer his phone and news of the shooting spread.
"Many injured and dead people were being brought to Pahalgam hospital but I was not allowed to go in to look for my brother," said Hussain from their village in Hapatnar.
"One tourist, a woman outside the hospital, told Naushad she was saved by a local pony man when her husband was killed," he recalled.
"She said the local man was shot while trying to hold the attacker back."
Hours later, after trailing ambulances carrying bodies to Srinagar, he found his brother lying lifeless on a stretcher.
"There, I saw my brother's body lying on a stretcher with his shirt torn," said Hussain.
He described seeing "three bullet wounds on his body, one across his neck and two on his upper chest."
Hussain also noticed signs of a struggle. "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 Shah had always possessed a strong moral compass. “My son had a very sharp sense of right and wrong,” he said.
"We are not alone in our grief," Shah senior added. "There are 25 other families, but I am proud of what my son did."
The Pahalgam terror attack
The Pahalgam massacre stands as one of the deadliest attacks in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
A joint team comprising Army personnel, Jammu & Kashmir police, and civil administration officials found that trousers of nearly 20 male victims had been unzipped or pulled down—an apparent confirmation that the terrorists had subjected them to a brutal, faith-based screening before executing them.
According to officials involved in the initial on-ground examination of the bodies, the lower garments of 20 out of 26 victims were forcibly dislodged, exposing their underwear or private parts. This detail came to light only during the detailed inspection of the bullet-riddled corpses, likely undertaken to document precise observations for inclusion in the FIR.
While relatives of the deceased may not have noticed the state of the clothing due to the overwhelming grief, and the recovery staff simply covered the bodies with shrouds, the officers conducting the detailed check noticed what they described as a "medievalesque" method used by the terrorists to determine the faith of the victims.
Eyewitnesses have corroborated this, stating that the attackers had demanded identity proofs like Aadhaar cards or driving licences, asked the victims to recite the kalma—an Islamic declaration of faith—and even ordered them to lower their pants to check for circumcision.
Once confirmed to be Hindus through these three steps, the gunmen reportedly shot the men at close range. Of the 26 people killed in the April 22 massacre, 25 were Hindu men.
Meanwhile, the probe into the killings is intensifying. Officials said that around 70 overground workers (OGWs) and suspected terror sympathisers from areas including Tral, Pulwama, Anantnag, and Kulgam are currently under investigation.
"Initially, the probe team rounded up 1,500 OGWs to examine their possible role. These have been narrowed down to 70 OGWs strongly suspected to have helped Pahalgam attack team with logistics. We hope to narrow the search further and get to the real culprits soon," a J&K administration officer said.
The attack has been widely condemned and is one of the deadliest in Jammu & Kashmir since the revocation of Article 370 in 2019.
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