One Adil Died Saving Lives In Pahalgam, While Another Showered Bullets – Same Name, Different Stories

Terrorists of Pakistan-based The Resistance Front (TRF) killed 26 people, mostly tourists, in Pahalgam’s Baisaran meadow on April 22. India has now decided to act against Pakistan, and has taken several measures, including revoking visas of all Pakistani nationals in India, and the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, among others.

Pahalgam Terror Attack: The story of Pahalgam is dreadful, painful and sad. Terrorists killed 26 innocent people in Baisarn meadows on Tuesday (April 22) in one of the most brutal attacks on civilians in Jammu and Kashmir in years. The attackers, as per survivors, asked the men to recite Kalima, and killed the ones who couldn’t. While the survivors were devastated, locals came to their aid. When terror struck the ‘heaven on Earth’, humanity came to people’s rescue, and one Adil came into the picture.

Adil died while trying to save tourists as he was shot three times in the chest. And there was another Aadil, who came there only to kill people. Two people, with the same name, left behind two totally different stories.

Aadil Thokar alias Aadil Guree is a terrorist of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). On the other hand, Syed Adil Hussain Shah was the brave pony ‘wallah’. On Thursday, the security forces destroyed Aadil’s house in an explosion. In his late 20s, Aadil was among the terrorists who brutally killed 26 tourists in Baisaran meadows on Tuesday.

The other Adil was a little older than 30.

Aadil Thokar, a resident of Guree village in Bijbehara in south Kashmir, had first gone to Pakistan when he was a teen on a Valid Travel Document (VTD) in 2018. According to a report in TOI, he suddenly disappeared. Then reports emerged claiming he had joined the banned Pakistan-based terror group LeT.
Several officials, as per TOI, said Aadil had infiltrated back into India through the Line of Control (LoC) in 2024. He was reportedly active in Doda and Kishtwar areas of the Jammu region.

He is presently on the run and was identified by the wife of one of those killed. He and other terrorists rained bullets on innocent people and then vanished into the jungles of Pir Panjal.

The Story Of Adil- The Saviour
One killed people, and the other saved them. Adil sacrificed his life while saving others and now, thousands are mourning for him. As per the report, Adil was the sole earning member of his family. He would take tourists, guide them on his pony from Pahalgam town to the lush green meadow.

Syed Naushad, Adil’s brother, narrated what happened on the fateful day. “On Tuesday afternoon 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, quoted TOI.

Naushad added that the killers pumped three bullets into Adil’s chest. He was the only Kashmiri killed by the armed terrorists, who had deliberately chosen the spot.

Adil’s sister, Asma said she was proud of her brother. Recalling her last conversation with him, “In the morning, I told him not to go as if I knew something bad was going to happen. But he did not listen to me and left.”

She said her brother was a brave person who would always be ready to support others.

Adil’s father is devastated. “Many boys from this village go to Pahalgam to find some work but who knew this was going to happen. The terrorists killed my son only because he confronted them and told them not to harm tourists,” he was quoted as saying by TOI.

He said that when Adil did not return, they started calling him. But nobody picked up the call. They had lost their Adil.

Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah met his family and said in a post on X, “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.”

“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,” he added.