On his 21st birthday, a Kashmiri soldier made his family and village proud by laying down his life while fighting militants in the dense Hafrada forests.
Home they brought their warrior dead. On his 21st birthday, a Kashmiri soldier made his family and village proud by laying down his life while fighting militants in the dense Hafrada forests.
Paratrooper Shabir Ahmad Malik of 1-Para (special forces) regiment was among the eight soldiers killed in the encounter that began on Friday. Seventeen militants were also eliminated in the five-day encounter.
A sea of people chanting pro-India-slogans swarmed the small village after receiving news of Malik’s death. It looked like all roads led to this small and scenic village. Young and old, men and women lined up on both sides of the road as the army truck carrying Malik’s coffin draped in the tricolour arrived in the village.
Women showered confetti and flower petals on the coffin as the troopers made their way, crisscrossing the dusty lanes. For some time the coffin was placed in the compound of Malik’s one-storey house where people had one last glimpse of the martyr.
Amid shouting of pro-India slogans, people took the coffin to the local Imambara from where army troopers took it to the graveyard where they paid their last salute and fired some rounds in the air in respect for the martyr.
For the family, it was moment of sorrow and pride. A distraught father could not hide his emotions when troopers handed him the tricolour.
A proud brother broke down while talking of Shabir’s qualities and a mother could not reconcile with her son’s death. “He was always yearning to do something for his country. He studied in Sainik School, Manasbal, upto class XII and then joined the army where he was trained as a commando. We feel pained by his death but are also honoured that he made his family and country proud,” said Ghulam Mohammad Malik, his brother.
Shabir’s school friend Mujtaba Ali Malik broke down on seeing Malik’s casket. Ganderbal SP Mir Imitiyaz Hussain said it was for the first time that hundreds joined the procession of a soldier chanting pro-India slogans. “He was a brave soldier. He was para-dropped in the jungles where he killed a few militants before laying down his life,” he said. Defence spokesperson Lt Col JS Brar said the militant group engaged in the encounter consisted of an infiltrating column as well as terrorists who had come to receive them.
A large cache of arms and ammunitions was recovered. It included 17 assault rifles, four under barrel grenade launchers,13 AK magazines, 207 AK ammunition, 19 UBGL grenades, two grenades, two global positioning systems, one Thuraya radio set, one Kenwood Radio Set, three map sheets, three matrix sheets, two haversacks and Rs9200 in Indian currency.
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