How the Cousin of Sole Kashmiri Victim of J&K Attack Saved a BJP Worker's Child

Kashmiri guide Nazakat saved BJP worker's child during J&K attack, calling her his daughter to protect her.

(Photo: The Quint)

On 24 April, Arvind Agrawal, a member of the Chhattisgarh unit of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), took to Facebook to say: "You risked your life to save ours. We will never be able to thank Nazakat bhai enough."

Agrawal's post, now viral on social media, came two days after the heinous terrorist attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 tourists, mostly non-Muslims, in a targeted attack in Baisaran Valley, Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.

On 24 April, Arvind Agrawal, a member of the Chhattisgarh unit of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), took to Facebook to say: "You risked your life to save ours. We will never be able to thank Nazakat bhai enough."

(Photo: Facebook/Arvind Agrawal)

Hailing from Raipur, Chhattisgarh, Agrawal was on a holiday to Kashmir along with his wife, children, and several family friends—11 people in total.

While the escape from the attack has left the Agrawal family still in shock, they cannot thank Nazakat, their Kashmiri tour guide, enough for saving their children. He had been guiding them on the trip since 18 April.

Nazakat is the cousin of Syed Adil Hussain Shah, the sole Kashmiri killed in the attack. The Quint spoke to Agrawal, as well as Nazakat, who recounted the horrors.

'He Told the Terrorist She Was His Daughter'

When the Agrawal family and their friends heard gunshots and screams from nearby, they ducked. At one point, they also attempted to jump the fences to escape, Agrawal said over the phone from Jaipur.

Scared by the noise, his four-year-old daughter Samriddhi started to run across the open ground. While his friends physically held him back, his wife Pooja followed their daughter in a bid to rescue her.

"I was confused whether it was the sound of bullets or crackers. My wife, Pooja, by then, had already reached the middle of the ground where my friend and his family were. Nazakat bhai was with them and he was holding my daughter," Agrawal told The Quint.

Nazakat Ali with BJP worker, Arvind Agrawal's daughter 

(The Quint)

"When a terrorist asked Nazakat who the girl was, he replied that she was his daughter. He left after," Agrawal recalled.

"The local ponywallahs then helped us escape on ponies," Agrawal said, adding that the locals then helped take his wife to the hospital, as she had fractured her shoulder.

"While escaping, my wife fractured her shoulder, and with the help of locals, we were taken to the Pahalgam Hospital."

'Just Glad I Could Save the Children': Nazakat

Tour guide Nazakat said that he is thankful to have been able to save the tourists and their children.

"I was playing with the children when we heard one or two shots going off. We assumed some children were playing with crackers, but the firing increased around that time. So, I grabbed the children and took off," he said.

"BJP politician Arvind Agrawal and his family took shelter, as I carried their children to their cars. I then took them to Pahalgam, from where they were taken to Srinagar," Nazakat recalled.

"Unfortunately, I got a call from home at around 10:00 pm saying that Adil Hussain, my cousin, is not with us anymore, and he was killed during the firing," he recalled.

Nazakat Ali speaking to the media about how he rescued the family

(The Quint)

Nazakat, however, skipped Adil's funeral as the 11 people were too terrified to be around without a Kashmiri local. He dropped them at the airport on 24 April before he finally returned home.

"This entire incident marks the death of humanity, and it should not have happened at any cost. I just find happiness in the fact that I could rescue those 11 people and make sure they reached home safely," Nazakat said.