SRINAGAR: Thousands of people on Tuesday defied terror threats and turned up in the funeral of four
Kashmiri soldiers, who were killed in the daring fidayeen attack by
Jaish-e-Mohammad operatives at an
Army camp in Sunjuwan in Jammu.
Six Army personnel, including four from Kashmir — Mohammad Ashraf Mir, Habibullah Qureshi, Manzoor Ahmed Deva and Mohammad Iqbal Sheikh — were killed in the strike.
A huge crowd gathered at Reshipora village of South Kashmir’s Tral region, where bodies of Mohammad Iqbal Sheikh and his father Ghulam Mohiuddin Sheikh were brought for the funeral. Iqbal’s neighbours paid respect to the father-son duo. “They never hurt anyone,” said one of the neighbours.
Last time, Tral had seen such a large crowd during the funeral of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.
Similar scenes were witnessed at Kewa village in Anantnag district, where the body of Manzoor Ahmad Deva, draped in the Tricolour, was brought for the last rite.
In north Kashmir, thousands participated in the last rites of Mohammad Ashraf Mir, whose body reached his village Lolab. Amid mourning, villagers demanded an end to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. “We appeal Pakistan to put to an end hostility and stop killing people,” one of the neighbours said.
Funeral procession of Army jawan, Manzoor Ahmad Deva of Kewa Qazigund IN South Kashmir on Tuesday 13 February
Ghulam Mohiuddin Mir said his son Ashraf was the sole earning member of the family. “He was our only hope. He laid down his life for the country,” he said.
The Army also paid tributes to the four. An Army spokesperson said the mortal remains of Armymen belonging to Kashmir were taken to their native places on Tuesday after a wreath-laying ceremony at Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry Regimental Centre in Srinagar. The soldiers were given military funerals with gun salutes, and their bodies were draped in the Tricolour.
