Pahalgam: A year after ‘ponywallah’ Adil Hussain Shah died while trying to save tourists during the Pahalgam terrorist attack on April 22, 2025, life has been anything but easy for his widow Gulnaz Akhtar.
Soon after losing her husband, who was the sole breadwinner of his family, Gulnaz moved back to her parents’ house and started working to sustain herself.
“I was married to Adil for six years. He was the sole earning member of the family and took full responsibility for our 4-5 member household. Since his death, life has been hard,” said Gulnaz, her voice heavy with grief.
She was still coming to terms with losing her daughter, who was stillborn, when the news about Adil’s death came.
“I now live with my parents and work to sustain myself. A job will not bring him back and life feels impossible without a partner,” she said.
On her decision to move out of her in-laws’ house, Gulnaz said, “Who would I stay there with? When my husband is not there, what would I do staying there?”
Recounting the day of the attack, she said it began like any other.
“In the morning, he offered namaz, had tea, ate and bid goodbye. By the evening, the news of his death reached our doorstep,” she said.
“I take immense pride that Adil died saving tourists… I miss him deeply,” she added.
Adil died while trying to snatch a weapon from one of the terrorists in a courageous attempt to protect the tourists he had ferried on horseback to the Baisaran meadow. He was the lone local among 26 people shot dead by Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists.
Three Pakistani terrorists involved in the attack were killed by security forces on the outskirts of Srinagar in July.
Adil’s brother Naushad Hussain Shah is overcome with grief every time he thinks of his brother, but is also proud of his final act of bravery.
“Whenever I remember Adil, it becomes difficult, beyond endurance,” he said.
He said losing a brother is deeply painful, but he finds some solace in the fact that he did good work.
Naushad said Adil could never tolerate any wrongdoing.
“He was soft-hearted, but could never stand anything wrong. If he saw any injustice, he would immediately oppose it. When Adil saw innocent, unarmed people being attacked, he stood up against it. That is when they (terrorists) killed him,” he said.
On the morning of April 22, 2025, Naushad said he left home early, while Adil went out, braving bad weather, to buy medicines for their father.
“Our sister had asked him not to go because of the rain, but he insisted,” Naushad said.
“The entire family depended on him. He was the eldest and the responsibility of the family rested on his shoulders. His word was final at home,” Adil’s brother said.
Adil had been working in Pahalgam since 2010. Initially, he would accompany his father during the annual Amarnath Yatra, ferrying pilgrims on horses in Chandanwari. In recent years, as tourism picked up, he worked there throughout the year, Naushad said.
He called the terror attack a “stain” on Pahalgam, a place known for its peaceful tourism.
“Such violence was unheard of here and it has brought hardship to locals,” Naushad said.
