Pahalgam: Omar Abdullah hails slain ‘ponnywallah’ who tried snatching rifle from terrorist to save tourists

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday offered his prayers (Fatiha) for a 30-year-old pony ride operator from Pahalgam who lost his life while trying to save tourists from terrorists who killed at least 26 people.

Syed Adil Hussain Shah, the ‘ponnywallah’, was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard at Hapatnard village in Pahalgam, with hundreds of people bidding him a tearful adieu and hailing his sacrifice.

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Syed Naushad, the deceased's brother, said that Shah had gone to Pahalgam for work, where terrorists shot him thrice. "He used to take tourists on pony rides to Baisaran. On Tuesday, 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,” he said.

Was the sole breadwinner of his family

Abdullah hailed his courage to stand up against the armed assailants. “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,” he wrote in a post shared by his office on X.

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“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 post added.

Abdullah assured his family of his government's support. “We are with them and will help them as much as we can,” he said.

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Shah's funeral prayers were led by a local, Ghulam Hassan, who lauded the pony ride operator's sacrifice. “We salute our brother who sacrificed his life trying to save the tourists. He will be rewarded by Allah for his deeds. I pray nobody sees their loved ones die like this,” he said in his sermon before the burial.

“We should always be ready to die for others, whether a Sikh, Pandit or a Muslim. That is what our religion teaches us,” Hassan added.

(With PTI inputs)