Two Kashmir brothers: One killed by rebels, another by army 26 years later

Indian-administered Kashmir – Rashid Ahmad Mughal was hardly six erstwhile equipped rebels barged into their location successful Chunt Waliwar village, successful Ganderbal territory of Indian-administered Kashmir, connected a freezing January nighttime successful 2000.

At astir midnight, astir a twelve equipped men broke the model by unit and entered the Mughals’ home, wherever six radical were dormant – 23-year-old Ishfaq, his 20-year-old sister Naseema, and younger brothers Ajaz, 8, and Rashid, 6, too their 2 cousins.

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The rebels had travel looking for Ishfaq, who, the household admitted, worked for the Indian army, which controls the region.

“He tried to flee,” Naseema recalls, “but they changeable him.”

As the household raised an alarm, the rebels took Ishfaq’s assemblage and fled into the dormant of the night.

Ishfaq Ahmad Mughal was killed successful 2000 by the Kashmiri rebels [Al Jazeera]

Since then, the Mughal siblings person been hoping for the instrumentality of his remains truthful that they tin execute his past rites successful accordance with Islamic traditions.

As the siblings waited for much than 26 years for closure connected losing Ishfaq, different calamity deed them past month.

On March 31, Rashid, present 32, was changeable dormant by the Indian service for being a suspected rebel.

The service said it launched an cognition on with the constabulary successful the Arahama country of Ganderbal aft receiving “specific quality input” connected the beingness of “terrorists”, arsenic Indian authorities and the media picture the rebels.

The service said Rashid was killed during an speech of occurrence with the rebels successful a forest. But the residents cull the claim, calling it different lawsuit of a “fake encounter” – staged extrajudicial sidesplitting of suspects by the Indian forces.

Residents said Rashid was the lone assemblage postgraduate successful his colony [Al Jazeera]

In a further stroke to the Mughal family, Rashid’s assemblage was buried 80km (50 miles) distant successful a graveyard marked for alleged rebels successful the frontier municipality of Kupwara – a signifier followed by the service successful caller years to forestall the eruption of thoroughfare protests.

Only Ajaz was allowed by the authorities to be the funeral.

The Kashmir conflict

The sidesplitting of the 2 brothers implicit 26 years – 1 killed by suspected rebels and the different by the service – successful galore ways encapsulates the calamity unfolding successful Kashmir for decades.

Kashmir is simply a disputed Himalayan territory divided betwixt nuclear-armed India and Pakistan, but claimed by some successful full, with neighbouring China besides controlling a sliver of its land. An equipped rebellion erupted connected the Indian broadside successful the precocious 1980s. To crush it, New Delhi sent astir a cardinal soldiers, with the struggle since past sidesplitting tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians.

Anti-India sentiments successful the Muslim-majority portion intensified successful 2019 erstwhile Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s right-wing authorities revoked Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which granted partial autonomy to Kashmir, and brought the portion nether New Delhi’s nonstop power by dividing it into 2 federally-administered territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

Modi’s authorities defended the revocation by claiming it would extremity the equipped rebellion and bring lasting bid to the region. However, astir 7 years later, Kashmir continues to stay connected the edge, with incidents of suspected rebel attacks, arsenic good arsenic alleged extrajudicial killings, torture and preventive detention of residents continuing to predominate headlines.

The Mughal household belongs to Kashmir’s Gujjar community, a nomadic Muslim tribal radical that historically sided with the Indian state. When the equipped rebellion broke retired successful 1989, the forest-dwelling Gujjars were seen arsenic the “eyes and ears” of the Indian forces for sharing quality and, astatine times, assisting troops successful operations against the rebels.

Over time, however, this narration has frayed. Once trusted arsenic a front-line community, the Gujjars and Bakarwals – the 2 main tribes successful the portion – present progressively find themselves nether unit from the precise strategy they erstwhile supported.

Since the 2019 abrogation of Kashmir’s peculiar status, astatine slightest 11 Gujjars person been killed successful suspected extrajudicial encounters, portion much than 10 person suffered superior injuries, allegedly owed to torture successful custody, marking a stark shift successful the fortunes of a assemblage erstwhile cardinal to India’s information apparatus successful the region.

Government argumentation changes person added to their concerns. Alterations successful quotas affected the marginalised community’s entree to jobs and education, triggering protests and resentment. They person besides faced eviction drives and displacement, with authorities accusing them of illegally occupying wood onshore and demolishing their seasonal shelters.

‘My member wasn’t a rebel’

Today, the Gujjars find themselves progressively susceptible amid evolving information challenges. Rashid’s sidesplitting is seen by the assemblage arsenic portion of that pattern.

As soon arsenic the quality of the sidesplitting dispersed successful Kashmir, hundreds of radical deed the streets, rejecting the army’s claims that helium was a rebel and demanding an probe into the March 31 “encounter”.

“I was engaged with my enactment erstwhile I received a telephone from a section constabulary official, saying that my member had met with an mishap and that I should scope the constabulary presumption immediately,” Rashid’s elder brother, Ajaz Ahmad Mughal, a regular wage worker, told Al Jazeera.

The tract wherever Rashid was killed successful an ‘encounter’ with the Indian service [Al Jazeera]

When Ajaz reached the Ganderbal constabulary station, helium was taken to different presumption successful Srinagar, immoderate 30km (20 miles) away, wherever helium saw a assemblage lying wrong an ambulance.

“The constabulary said your member was a militant and that helium was killed by the service successful an encounter,” said Ajaz. “His look was mutilated, seemingly to fell his identity. I identified him with his feet.”

Rashid was a commerce postgraduate – the lone 1 successful the impoverished colony – and truthful helped the chiefly illiterate radical successful his assemblage successful accessing indispensable authorities documents.

On the time helium was killed, Rashid had near his location with the documents of immoderate radical helium was helping – similar helium did each time earlier returning location by the evening.

“However, this time, helium didn’t instrumentality and his telephone was switched off,” Ajaz recalled.

The adjacent morning, quality astir the service cognition successful adjacent forests dispersed successful the area. That is when, said Ajaz, radical came to cognize astir Rashid’s killing.

“We were perfectly devastated. How did my brother, who was a civilian until the time before, abruptly crook into a militant?” helium asked.

Ajaz said the apparel Rashid was recovered wearing erstwhile helium saw his assemblage did not beryllium to his brother, alleging the information forces enactment the apparel connected him aft the killing. The household asked wherefore Rashid was ne'er questioned oregon arrested by the constabulary if helium was an equipped rebel.

Rashid’s country astatine their location successful Chunt Waliwar village, Ganderbal, Kashmir [Al Jazeera]

As protests and questions implicit the sidesplitting grew, the New Delhi-appointed politician of the disputed portion ordered a magisterial enquiry into the killing. The authorities said a probe volition beryllium completed wrong 7 days. It has been astir a period now, and nary enquiry study has yet been published.

Al Jazeera reached retired to the service and the determination constabulary for their statements connected the family’s allegations, but received nary response.

However, a constabulary official, connected information of anonymity since helium was not authorised to talk to the media, told Al Jazeera the determination to instrumentality Rashid’s assemblage to the household would beryllium taken based connected the “nature of the enquiry report” submitted by the magistrate.

The constabulary authoritative besides said Rashid had nary adverse constabulary records and that helium had ne'er been summoned for questioning for immoderate rebellion-related case.

‘Prepared a sedate for Rashid’

Even arsenic the authorities investigates the killing, the Mughal household doubts it volition pb anywhere, noting that galore specified probes ordered successful Kashmir successful the past yielded small oregon nary outcome.

Experts accidental specified probes by magistrates, who are members of the aforesaid bureaucracy that governs the region, pb to small oregon nary remedial action.

“The precise slightest that tin beryllium done is simply a time-bound probe by a judicial magistrate answerable to the main justness of a precocious court,” Ravi Nair, enforcement manager of the South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre, told Al Jazeera.

The location of the Mughals successful Chunt Waliwar colony [Al Jazeera]

According to information compiled by the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), determination were astatine slightest 108 cases of rights violations by the Indian forces betwixt 2008 and 2018, wherever probes were ordered, but nary 1 has been prosecuted to date. JKCCS is present a defunct rights organisation aft its founder, Khurram Parvez, was arrested nether a stringent anti-terror instrumentality successful 2023.

In 2018, the Indian authorities informed the parliament that it received 50 requests from the then-regional authorities for the prosecution of information forces accused of rights violations. It denied authorisation successful 47 cases, portion the substance is inactive pending successful the remaining three.

Since the onset of the equipped rebellion successful 1989, betwixt 8,000 and 10,000 radical person disappeared successful Kashmir, according to the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), which represents the families of the missing.

As of December 2025, authorities information shows that the portion recorded the highest fig of arrests nether the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for 5 consecutive years. In 2021, the national authorities informed the parliament that arsenic galore arsenic 33 custodial deaths took spot successful Kashmir betwixt 2016 and 2021. The adjacent year, an investigation of information provided by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) revealed 38 cases of alleged extrajudicial killings successful Kashmir – the highest successful India that year.

Human rights experts accidental the 1990 Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act (AFSPA), a arguable instrumentality that provides impunity to the service successful Kashmir, acts arsenic a ineligible shield for the accused members of the information forces.

Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia manager for Human Rights Watch, told Al Jazeera that contempt respective cases of extrajudicial killings successful Kashmir and families intelligibly identifying the alleged perpetrators, not overmuch enactment has been taken by the authorities.

“Unfortunately, determination is simply a civilization of impunity that has perpetuated specified abuses. The Defence Ministry restricts authorisation to prosecute soldiers, portion the Home Ministry has shielded paramilitary forces,” she said, demanding a repeal of the AFSPA “and each different laws that supply information forces immunity from prosecution”.

“Justice and accountability are cardinal to lasting peace,” she said.

The commerce grade marksheet of Rashid Ahmad Mughal [Al Jazeera]

Praveen Donthi, elder expert with the International Crisis Group, an planetary deliberation tank, says India’s 2019 determination to revoke Article 370 was aimed astatine “fully integrating Kashmir into the national and end[ing] separatism and militancy”.

“However, 7 years down the line, the concern remains precarious. The struggle is acold from resolved, and militancy inactive has the capableness to ramp up astatine will,” helium said.

“The unit connected information forces to support bid and stableness whitethorn beryllium starring to procedural errors and excesses.”

However, retired Indian service commander, DS Hooda, argues that the service “does not tolerate specified incidents and has taken enactment if they recovered immoderate wrongdoing by their soldiers”.

“It was an service probe that revealed that 1 of the officials was involved, and the accused was punished by the service court,” Hooda said, referring to a staged sidesplitting of 3 civilians dubbed arsenic rebels by the service successful Kashmir’s Shopian country successful 2020.

The service aboriginal acknowledged its soldiers exceeded powers nether the AFSPA instrumentality and sentenced an accused worker to beingness imprisonment. He was aboriginal suspended by an equipped forces tribunal.

“The service carries retired its ain investigation. There is nary impunity and if they find thing wrong, they instrumentality action. This is not an organisation thing.”

But the Mughal siblings accidental they had ne'er thought a calamity that struck them 26 years agone would instrumentality successful specified a devastating way, reopening aged wounds and leaving them erstwhile again searching for answers and closure.

They accidental their suffering has not ended, with the years lone deepening their grief arsenic they hold for the instrumentality of the remains of their siblings.

“We person prepared a sedate for Rashid. We volition hide him successful our ain graveyard,” says his sister Naseema. “It volition consciousness arsenic though helium is adjacent to us.”