Hapatnar, April 23: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday offered funeral prayers for Syed Adil Hussain Shah, the pony ride operator killed in Tuesday’s militant attack in Pahalgam that left 26 people dead, mostly tourists.
Shah, a resident of Hapatnar in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, was the only local victim in the massacre at Baisaran meadows, a popular tourist site near the Pahalgam resort.
Abdullah also visited the family of the deceased and pledged government support. “We will have to take care of the family and help them,” the chief minister told reporters.
“I have come here to assure them that the government stands with them at this juncture and we will do whatever we can for them.”
Suggesting that Shah may have tried to intervene during the attack, Abdullah said, “Perhaps he tried to stop them and tried to take away the gun of a terrorist. That is why he was then targeted.”
The chief minister’s visit came a day after the attack, which sent shockwaves through the region and raised concerns about the safety of locals and tourists in the Valley.
