Aadil and Adil: two lives that tell the Pahalgam tale

Srinagar: This is the story of two Adils - one who gave up his life trying to save tourists and took three bullets in his chest and the other who opened gunfire on them in the calibrated terror attack that killed 26 people, all men, mostly tourists. Pronounced the same but spelt differently by security agencies, Aadil Thokar alias Aadil Guree is of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). And Syed Adil Hussain Shah was a braveheart pony 'wallah'. The two men bookending the many shades of Kashmir, their very different lives telling the tale of conflict and also of compassion.

Aadil Thokar, a resident of Guree village in Bijbehara in south Kashmir, is in his late 20s, officials said. Adil Hussain was just a little older at 30.

On Thursday, the home of Aadil, a key accused in the April 22 strike in the Baisaran meadow in the upper reaches of Pahalgam, was destroyed in an explosion.

Though it is not clear what exactly led to the blast, officials said explosives were kept inside and there was a search operation.

He was a little more than a teen when he went to Pakistan on a Valid Travel Document (VTD) in 2018 and disappeared thereafter. Soon, there were reports he had joined the banned Pakistan-based terror group LeT.

Officials said he infiltrated back into India through the Line of Control in 2024 and was active in Doda and Kishtwar areas of Jammu region.

Investigations into the attack targeting tourists - the worst in Kashmir since the 2019 Pulwama strike when 40 CRPF personnel were killed - indicate that the number gunmen could range from five to seven. They were helped by at least two local militants who received training in Pakistan.

Aadil, on the run, was one of them. He was identified by the wife of one of those killed.

At least six to seven pictures were shown to eyewitnesses. One of them identified Aadil as the terrorist pulling the trigger. After that, the gunmen vanished into the thick pine jungles of Pir Panjal.

The other young man at the centre of conversation nationwide following the Pahalgam strike has had a very different life trajectory.

One the killer, the other the hero loved and mourned by thousands.

Adil, the sole earning member of his family, earned his living taking tourists up six kilometres on his pony from Pahalgam town to the expansive green meadow that was a must see for all visitors.

That day must have started like any other for him and the family.

"On Tuesday afternoon when terrorists attacked tourists, my brother tried to stop them. A tourist whose father was killed in the attack told me about the heroic act of my brother at SMHS hospital," said Syed Naushad, adding that the killers pumped three bullets into Adil's chest.

Adil was the only Kashmiri killed by the armed gunmen who specifically targeted tourism, hitting at the root of the economy heavily dependent on tourism.

Sadness over his death hangs like a shroud but there is also enormous pride.

Naushad said his brother's sacrifice is a "proud moment" for the family and friends.

His sister Asma said she felt a sense of foreboding.

"In the morning, I told him not to go as if I knew something bad was going to happen. But he did not listen to me and left," she said, describing her brother as a brave man always ready to support others.

His devastated father Syed Haider Shah said he was the kindest of his children. "Many boys from this village go to Pahalgam to find some work but who knew this was going to happen. The terrorists killed my son only because he confronted them and told them not to harm tourists."

He said there was no mobile connectivity in Baisaran. "When he did not return in the evening, we started calling him but nobody picked up the phone.

The family was not alone in their grief. Hundreds of people gathered in his ancestral village Hapatnard in Pahalgam as he was laid to rest. Among them was Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

"I visited Pahalgam today to offer 'fatiha' (prayer after burial) for brave-heart Shah, who was shot dead while trying to snatch a weapon from one of the terrorists in a courageous attempt to protect the tourists he had ferried on horseback from the parking area to Baisaran meadow.

"Met his grieving family and assured them of full support - Adil (Shah) was the sole breadwinner, and his extraordinary bravery and sacrifice will forever be remembered," the chief minister wrote in a post shared by his office on X.

Ghulam Hassan, who led the funeral prayers of Shah lauded the sacrifice of the youth, saluted Adil for his courage and said Allah would reward him for his deeds. "We should always be ready to die for others, whether a Sikh, Pandit or a Muslim. That is what our religion teaches us," he said.

The credo Adil lived by - and died for.