"He Grabbed Terrorist's Gun, They Shot From Behind": Pahalgam Ponywallah's Family

Only one local had died in the terror attack at Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, Syed Adil Hussain, who was guiding the ponies the tourists had used to cross the tricky terrain and reach the Baisaran meadow. As the terrorists came out of the surrounding pine forests and opened fire, Adil had tried to save some of the tourists and lost his life in the attack that was directed at the tourists.

It was his last day of work, before taking a few days off, his sister said.  

His aunt Salima said Adil had grabbed the gun of one of the terrorists and a bullet tore through his hand. He had then tried to shield the riders of his ponies with his body, saying 'Don't kill them'. "He was big and healthy. They shot him from behind. The bullets tore through his chest," she said.  

"They (the terrorists) are not human... They are a disgrace. They should be handed to us. We do not need any army. Just hand them over to us. Either we die or they do. They made a widow of a young girl who was married just six days ago... she is also my daughter like this one here... Don't know what disgusting family they came from,' she said.  

The family, she said, initially had no idea where their son was. His phone was switched off and since getting the news of the attack, they ran from pillar to post, knowing that he operated ponies on that route. 

Asked if their son would not have survived today had he not tried to help the tourists, his father Haider Shah said, "We are not as sad about our son as we are about those tourists. So many people died. 
That girl who was married for six days. Another girl lost her father. People lost their children. They were innocent. My son lost his life trying to save them. He made us proud," he said. 

This, though, does not solve the immediate problem of the family, where the son was the only breadwinner. 

"His father is sick and so am I," his mother said. "Now who will take care of things? Get this girl married," she said. 

Twenty-six people had died on Sunday afternoon as terrorists from a Lashkar-e-Taiba offshoot, unleashed havoc on the scenic meadows of Baisaran and left a bloodbath. Among the 25 tourists who died, one was a Nepali national. The rest came from 14 states across India. 

The government has vowed retaliation and already taken several non-military action that includes indefinite suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, shutting the Attari border and revoking visas of all Pakistan nationals currently in India. From Sunday, all visas, including medical visas become invalid and the people have 72 hours to leave the country.