Shopian encounter: Militant dials family to bid farewell before security forces take him down, conversation goes viral

A heartbreaking conversation between a man and his militant son during a gunfight between government forces in Kachdoora village of south Kashmir’s Shopian district past Sunday has gone viral on social media, evoking passionate commentary. The militant, Eitmaad Hussain Dar, a resident of Amshipora, Shopian, who joined Hizbul Mujahideen on 5 November last year, dialled his brother from the mobile phone of one of the 14-member family of the house owner where a group of seven militants were trapped for nine hours.[caption id=“attachment_4242677” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. PTI[/caption] Two militants including a top commander reportedly managed to break the cordon and escaped from the house while five others, including Eitmaad, were killed. The conversation which begins with formal Islamic greeting lasts for about five minutes during which the militant is heard pleading with his father to forgive him. On Saturday night, at around 10:30 pm, seven militants entered the house of a farmer Mohammad Maqbool Lone. Soon Lone’s family members were trapped inside the house with militants for hours before they came out unscathed. A big number of troops had laid a siege around a cluster of houses on Sunday night before the militants were engaged. “I’m trapped. If I made any mistakes, please forgive me,” Eitmaad, 26, tells his young brother who breaks down instantly upon hearing the news. In return, his brother is heard telling their sister and father that ‘brother is trapped’. Immediately, wails of women are heard in the house. The siblings are heard in the audio message suggesting their young militant brother to try to escape from the cordon. “We are trapped in Kachdoora. We are five and I can’t talk for long,” Eitmaad is heard telling his brother. Then, his father joins the conversation. He goes on to ask his militant son to pray to God and seek a righteous path in his death. “Logsaya (May I perish for you), I couldn’t fulfil my promise. Now I can’t tell it,” the militant tells his father, weeping, who responds: “I too had to make a pious promise to you. It was for your and our good. “See, I can’t tell you to surrender, can I?” the father asks his son, apparently giving offering him a window to surrender, “I can’t,” he goes on, as Eitmaad responds negatively, “No, no. You should remain happy,” the militant replies to his father while others family members are heard getting emotional in the background. The militant is heard saying that they have no chance to escape and one of their colleagues was hit by a bullet on the head but that he was stable (during the conversation). “Has he attained martyrdom,” asks the father and militants responds, “We tried a lot to escape but we couldn’t. Abrar bhai (another militant) is injured.” “If you can leave (escape from cordon), then try. If not, then what can be done?” says the militant’s father during the emotional conversation. “Keep courage,” the determined father tells his militant son, “You were God’s gift to me. Keep courage. Now I will return you to Him.” During the intense conversation, the father also asks whether his militant son had any unfulfilled desires following which another militant, Abrar (as named in conversation), takes the phone. Abrar, the alias of Ishfaq Thoker, one of the militants killed in the encounter, too wanted to talk to his father. He is heard asking for contact number before the conversation ends. “Excuse me, a bullet has hit me in the head. I feel drowsy, can’t talk much. Ali bai and Saifullah Bai have left. But we are trapped,” says the militant before the conversation ends. On Sunday, five local Hizb militants who were later identified by police as Ishfaq Thokar resident of Paddarpora Shopian, Aitmad Hussain Dar resident of Amshipora, Shopian, Aqib Bashir resident of DH Pora Kulgam, Sameer Lone of Hillow Shopian and Gayas ul Islam Thoker of Paderpora, were killed in one of the three encounters in south Kashmir. A dying militant’s conversation with family surfacing on social media is not a new phenomenon in Kashmir. Many conversations have been uploaded, including on social media, where militants are heard making the last call to their families while being trapped in gunfights.