Haptnar, Anantnag: For any family living under a roof made of rusted iron sheets, a new concrete house would normally be cause for celebration. But not for Syed Haider Shah and his family in the remote village of Haptnar in Anantnag.
As the 55-year-old former ponywallah prepares for the inauguration of his new two-bedroom house on Tuesday, the building is a reminder of the family’s loss and pain. The reason? It was built next to the old house with financial help from Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde after Haider Shah’s son was shot dead by terrorists at the Baisaran valley in April last year.
His son, Syed Adil Hussain Shah, was the lone Kashmiri local among the 26 people killed by the terrorists. Eyewitness accounts indicate victims, all males, were singled out based on religion and shot at close range in front of their families.
The terrorists pumped three bullets into Adil as he tried to save a tourist during the targeted firing. The 28-year-old later died of the bullet injuries.
“The bravery shown by my son, despite firing at such intensity, raised the profile of Kashmir and its people in the eyes of all Indians, who keep calling and coming to my place. He saved Kashmir’s prestige,” Haider Shah told ThePrint.
A year after the deadly attack, Adil’s family has received a new house and government jobs, but nothing can ease the grief of his loss, which still haunts them every day.
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) offshoot The Resistance Front (TRF) claimed responsibility for the attack, before withdrawing the claim. The Cabinet Committee on Security met the day after the attack and, in a statement, highlighted a potential link to Pakistan.
India responded to the attack with Operation Sindoor, carrying out strikes against terror infrastructure across the border in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and mainland Pakistan. Pakistan retaliated leading to a military confrontation between the nuclear-armed nations before they agreed to a ceasefire.
Later, Union Home Minister Amit Shah told Parliament that the three terrorists involved in the attack were neutralised in an encounter at the Dachigam forest on the outskirts of Srinagar.
Adil’s father said that the development had brought him a sense of peace. “I felt at peace when our security forces and government responded to the cowardly attack. I am very happy that our forces and government responded to it,” he told ThePrint.
‘Sab chala gaya’
On Tuesday, Syed Haider Shah was preparing for the inauguration of the new house built with financial assistance after his son’s death.
Shinde provided the family with Rs 5 lakh in cash and all financial assistance required for the construction and furnishing of the one-storey building, with glass windows, utensils, and Wi-Fi.
Following Adil’s death, the government has provided his wife with a job in the fisheries department. The couple had no children. The wife lives with her family in a neighbouring village. His younger brother works as a daily-wage labourer with the local Waqf board.
Haider Shah credits the change in the family to his son’s bravery. “The sacrifice that my elder son Adil made put us as well as the village on the map and in the imagination of India. We are poor people and have never even dreamed of meeting such influential people in our lifetime,” he said, looking at the new house while remembering his son.
“Now people know us, and there are scores of people coming to my house.”
As the Shiv Sena workers geared up for the inauguration of the house on Tuesday, their euphoria and the shining walls of the building belied the grief that he had felt since his son’s killing.
The loss of his son has not healed for Syed Haider Shah, who misses Adil even today | Mohammad Hammad | ThePrint
Haider Shah has all the means to lead a comfortable and peaceful life, but nothing can heal the wounds of 22 April 2025.
“I have got all the reward money promised to me. Shinde ji has also got this house made for us,” he said, sitting inside the corner room of his four-decade-old hut, which he says primarily belonged to Adil and his other two sons.
“Sab kuchh mila, lekin bachha chala gaya toh sab chala gaya. Mai ye sab gawane ko taiyar hu agar mera beta mere paas ho (I have got it all but lost everything as I lost my son. I would give it all up to have my son alive with me),” Haider Shah added, as he fought back his tears.
A phone call that never went through
Having dropped out after matriculation due to financial constraints, Adil had worked as a ponywallah for the past eight years, his father recalled.
A stickler for routine and punctuality, an enthusiastic Adil left home early, around 8 a.m. on 22 April.
“He left early in the morning, saying he was going to Pahalgam,” Haider Shah said, adding that the continuous rain in Pahalgam the previous day prompted Adil to leave earlier than usual.
“He had two pairs of trousers that day, saying he would carry one extra pair to change into after some rounds of ferrying tourists, because of the mud on the trekking route to Baisaran due to heavy rain.”
Adil’s brother Naushad, who was operating a local rental taxi service for tourists in Pahalgam, had also left for work shortly after Adil’s departure.
It was all a normal day for the Shah family and the families of hundreds of tourists who had flocked to the Baisaran meadows in Pahalgam—until 2 p.m.
Shah remembers hearing about some troubling developments in Pahalgam from the villagers, prompting him to call both his sons in the tourist town, which was earlier teeming with hundreds of tourists.
Naushad said he was taking a tourist to Chandanwari, another famous tourist destination in Pahalgam, when his wife alerted him to the family’s panicked calls to Adil.
“I tried calling him for hours but could not reach him. By evening, I saw a list that emerged from Pahalgam hospital, in which I saw his name and went to identify him,” Naushad said, standing by his father.
“He was the eldest son of the family and was the principal breadwinner. I was driving a taxi service on rent earlier and bought a car in November last year.”
According to the family, Adil and all ponywallahs earned Rs 300 per trip ferrying tourists to and from the Baisaran meadows.
The family’s circumstances have improved significantly, he recalled, but he still feels the absence of his brother.
“I cry alone when I recall that my elder brother is no more with us. But one fact that makes us and all in our family proud is that he made a supreme sacrifice, and it has not been lost,” he added, before heading out to work.
Haider Shah, who himself was a ponywallah until his sons began earning, recalled that Adil also ferried pilgrims during the annual Amarnath yatra. Pahalgam houses one of the major base camps for pilgrims.
Naushad said the family owned the horse that Adil rode. “For pony business during the Amarnath yatra, one needs to own the horses. For pony rides in Pahalgam, ponies are registered with a local agent who offers them for rental and takes a portion of the earnings daily,” explained Naushad, pointing to the pony tied near their house.
The family, however, is not sure of what to do with the pony now.
“We don’t know what we’ll do with it. The one who managed him is no more, and no one will be employed in the pony business anytime soon, hopefully,” said Adil’s father, his voice breaking,
He said tourism has plummeted since the terrorist attack last year, but requested prospective tourists to consider Kashmir and Pahalgam once again.
“What happened was unfortunate, but tourism has collapsed in Pahalgam. Most of the people here were reliant on tourism for their livelihood. They are struggling to make ends meet,” Haider Shah said.
“People are actually afraid of coming to Kashmir, but I assure you that there are thousands of Adils who are ready to fight for them and willing to put their lives on the line to save them.”
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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