Pahalgam guide became guardian angel for Chhattisgarh BJP worker: ‘Hugged the children, saved their lives’

When the attack took place on Tuesday, Agrawal (35) said other tourists pulled him to safety, but his wife Pooja and their four-year-old daughter were some distance away.

Pahalgam Tourist Attack: Chhattisgarh BJP youth wing worker Arvind Agrawal, who was in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam during the terror attack on tourists there, has credited local guide Nazakat Ahmed Shah with saving his family.

Nazakat, however, lost his cousin in the attack, which claimed the lives of 25 tourists and one local who ferried tourists on horseback. That local was Nazakat’s cousin, Syed Adil Hussain Shah (30), who was shot dead reportedly while trying to stop the militants.

When the attack took place on Tuesday, Agrawal (35) said other tourists pulled him to safety, but his wife Pooja and their four-year-old daughter were some distance away. “Everything was peaceful and I was clicking photos. My four-year-old daughter and wife were a bit far from me when the firing suddenly began. My guide, Nazakat (28), was with them and another couple and their child,” Agrawal, who is from Chirimiri town,

When the firing started, Nazakat asked everyone to lie down and hugged my daughter and my friend’s son, saving their lives. He then rushed them to safety before going back to rescue my wife,” he recalled.

He said that for an hour, he did not know if his family was safe. It was in hospital later that he finally saw his wife and daughter.

“I do not know what would have happened had Nazakat not been there… My wife’s clothes had been torn, but the locals gave her clothes to wear,” said Agrawal.

Recalling the incident, Nazakat told The Indian Express, “The firing was taking place near the zipline, about 20 metres from where we were standing. I first asked all those around me to lie down on the ground. Then I spotted a gap in the fencing and guided the children towards it. We escaped from the spot before the terrorists could come near us.”

He said that after guiding them to safety, “I returned to find Agrawal ji’s wife, who had run in another direction. I found her nearly one-and-a-half kilometres away and brought her back in my car. I took them safely to Srinagar.”

It was then that he got a phone call with some tragic news. “I was told that my (cousin) brother, Adil, a horse rider, died in the attack.”

Condemning the attack, Nazakat said, “Tourism is our bread and butter. We are unemployed without it and our children’s education depends on this… The terror attack is like an attack on our hearts. We shut the doors of our shops and businesses and are protesting. We are known for our hospitality and I believe tourists will come. Security forces should be more vigilant.”