Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Monday visited the family of Zakir Hussain who was killed in Pakistani shelling here. He offered condolences to the family and assured them of full support from the administration.
Forty five-year-old Hussain was killed and two others, including a young girl, were injured when Pakistani forces resorted to shelling in Kheri Keran village of Bantalab area on the outskirts of Jammu on May 7.
The shelling came in the wake of Indian Army’s strikes on nine terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, carried out in response to the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam that left 26 people dead.
Accompanied by former minister and BJP leader Sham Lal Sharma, the Lieutenant Governor visited Kheri Keran village to meet the bereaved family and assured them of all possible assistance.
“(I) offered my heartfelt condolences and assured the family of all assistance and support from administration,” Sinha said on X.
Family members of the deceased demanded that Zakir Hussain’s name be included in the list of martyrs since 1947.
“We demand his name be recognised among martyrs and that the family be allotted a petrol pump for sustenance,” a family member told reporters.
They also urged the administration to enhance the compensation, stating that the Rs 10 lakh ex-gratia amount announced so far is insufficient to secure the future of Hussain’s children.
The situation across Jammu and Kashmir remained largely peaceful on Monday with no ceasefire violations reported overnight, marking the first calm night in over two weeks.
India and Pakistan on Saturday reached an understanding to halt all military action on land, air and sea with immediate effect, following four days of intense cross-border hostilities that brought the nuclear-armed neighbours to the brink of a full-scale war.
