While terrorists tried to divide, how brave Kashmiri Muslims saved several tourists

The Pahalgam terrorists singled out victims based on religion. The one Kashmiri Muslim who was killed, according to eyewitness accounts, died while trying to save others.J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah joined thousands of locals in Hapat Nar, Anantnag, a day after the attack in saluting Syed Adil Hussain Shah for his act of courage. “He tried to stop the attack. We’ve heard he was targeted after he tried to snatch a terrorist’s rifle," the CM said. “We’ve to take care of this family.”Shah, around 28 years old, was a contractual pony handler offering rides to tourists. He was paid Rs 300 a day. He had been saving to get his two sisters married.Based on interactions with the survivors, sources in the security establishment said it was “premature” to confirm the exact circumstances of Shah's death. “We are familiar with the account that he was killed while trying to stop the terrorists…” an official source said. medium120582805In Shah’s modest village home in Hapat Nar, 20km before Pahalgam, hundreds gathered to console his father Syed Haider Hussain Shah, mother Bibi Jaan, and sisters. The family said they were mourning not only Adil’s death, but also each of the slain tourists.Mohammad Hussain, a cousin of Adil, said the young man had stepped out as usual on Tuesday, carrying home-cooked tiffin. “Who could have imagined he wouldn’t return? The wives of so many of our tourist brothers, some of them on honeymoon, are going back with their bodies. This is a blot on Kashmiriyat that we can’t erase,” he said.‘Ponywallahs hid my son behind animals, helped him escape’Twenty-eight people lost their lives in the deadly attack, including Sushil Nathaniel from Indore. However, his son managed to get out alive thanks to the local ponywallahs.Jennifer, Sushil’s wife, recounting the tragedy to a relative, said, “We left around 11 in the morning. The valley was unusually crowded that day. There were many ponies, and since I am unfamiliar with riding, I was already a little nervous."The couple and their son Austen made their way over the narrow trails on ponies, enjoying tea and snacks, and stopping at scenic spots to click pictures.The horror was unleashed soon after. Three men, in military-style clothing, emerged from the crowd. Without warning, they opened fire.Jennifer said, "As this was happening, my husband threw a jacket towards me, signalling me to wear it as if he wanted to save me from being hit by bullets. Amid this chaos they came towards him, put a weapon to his head, and asked him to read the Kalma. When he said he was a Christian, they pushed him to the ground and shot him multiple times," she said."Bullets tore through the air; I couldn't do anything. I was pushed away," she said, her voice trembling. According to Jennifer’s account, her son Austen was saved by local ponywallahs who hid him behind the animals and brought him down through different trails.‘Humanity comes before religion’Sajad Ahmad Bhat, a shawl hawker from Pahalgam, also helped several tourists. In a video that's gone viral, he was seen carrying a tourist injured during the attack.Bhat said that he had received a message from the head of Pahalgam Pony Association, Abdul Waheed Wan, informing him about the incident. Stating that it was his duty to help the tourists, who were also their guests, he said, "I was sitting at my home when I received a text from the Pahalgam Pony Association president, Abdul Waheed Wan, about the incident in the Baisaran Valley. We went with him and reached the location around 3-3:30pm...We gave water to the injured and lifted those who could not walk.... Humanity comes before religion. It is our duty to help the tourists as they are our guests..." #PahalgamTerrorAttack | Sajad Ahmad Bhat, a local Shawl hawker from #Pahalgam , carried an injured #Tourist to safety on his back. pic.twitter.com/PZu9vEfD1d

— Jammu Ladakh vision (@jammu_ladakh) April 24, 2025 “We brought many of them to the hospital... We did not care about our own lives because when we went there, people were pleading for help... When I saw the tourists crying, tears came to my eyes... Their arrival lights up the lamps in our houses. Our life is incomplete without them..." Bhat said.The man who tried to save Navy officer Vinay NarwalIrshad Ahmad, president of the Pahalgam ATV (all-terrain vehicle) Stand who leads a team of ATV operators in the area, is another heroic rescuer who upon hearing about the attack used his ATV bikes to help people escape.Ahmad was, in fact the first responder to reach Navy officer Lieutenant Vinay Narwal. "We took all our bikes to Baisaran valley since it is a non-motorable road. So we took our ATVs. We have been taking the force and the police on our ATVs to the valley for the last two days... I was the one who brought the Navy Officer (Lieutenant Vinay Narwal) and his wife to the ambulance. I checked his pulse on the way and realised that he had died. At the moment, I lied to his wife that he was alive and that she should not worry... When I saw the situation there, I cried four times... We don't want such incidents ever to be repeated in our Kashmir," Ahmad said. #WATCH | Pahalgam, J&K | On helping the security forces in rescue efforts following the #PahalgamTerroristAttack , President of Pahalgam ATV stand, Irshad Ahmad, says, "... Initially, we took the bikes and went home. Then we received a call that the situation is normal and we have… pic.twitter.com/76B9dtpBUr

— ANI (@ANI) April 24, 2025 The restaurant owner who helped people hideA group of 24 Goans, enjoying a leisurely lunch at a restaurant near the scenic Baisaran valley, suddenly heard gunshots fill the air. There was no time to think.“We heard screaming, and could see people panicking and running towards us,” said Amit Sawant, 51, the tour manager. He said some people even ran into the restaurant they were in.The restaurant owner, a local, pulled down the shutters and told his patrons to stay put and hide. For 30 slow and excruciating minutes, they huddled together in panic, with the owner beside them. In a dire situation in a strange land, some wept, while others prayed.When they finally emerged from the confines of the restaurant, it was unnerving.Tourists said several local taxi drivers also rose to the occasion, helping them hide and even using their cars to help them get to their buses, so they could flee.Locals help couple fleeA couple from Maharashtra were visiting Pahalgam around the same time.Sakshi and Krishna Lolge, from Nanded in Maharashtra, said they were saved thanks to the help of some locals who helped them quickly move away from the site and reach their hotel safely."We visited the spot where the terror attack took place, but left the place just 15-20 minutes before the incident. We heard the sound of firing after we moved a little away from the place," Sakshi said in a video shot by the couple after they reached their hotel from the incident site.Some locals helped them leave quickly from the place, she said. "If there was no support from the locals, who helped us to move away fast, we would have not been able to make this video. The local people helped the tourists a lot," Sakshi said. Her husband Krishna said their pony ride operator quickly rushed them down the hill."Our tour coordinators were also in constant touch with us. The local people took us to our hotel immediately. We came to know at the hotel that the terror attack had taken place," he added.‘They treated me like a sister’Aarti, a mother of twin boys, lost her father, 68-year-old Ramachandran – he was shot dead by a terrorist in Pahalgam."We had just reached Pahalgam, often called ‘mini-Switzerland’, and the place was buzzing with tourists,” she said, adding, “Suddenly, I heard what sounded like firecrackers. I asked my father if it could be a terror attack.”What followed was a nightmare. “A man with a gun appeared and started firing. I told my father and my sons to lie down in a nearby bushy, fenced area. The gunman approached us and said something we couldn't understand. I asked what he meant, and then he shot my father. I knew he was gone,” she said, breaking into tears.Aarti said she managed to make her way down the hill with her children. “After about 45 minutes, I got the mobile signal and called my driver,” she said."We reached the Hilton hotel, where the staff offered us a free room and full support...” she said.Aarti expressed deep gratitude to the locals and authorities who helped her through the ordeal. “I especially want to thank our driver, Muzafir, and his brother. They treated me like a sister. At Srinagar airport, I told them I now have two Kashmiri brothers.”