145;We are poor people, why attack us?146;

As the politics of peace takes centrestage in Kashmir, death came calling, striking terror among ordinary villagers. A grenade lobbed into t...

As the politics of peace takes centrestage in Kashmir, death came calling, striking terror among ordinary villagers. A grenade lobbed into the Pattan civil court compound killed three, including a young woman, and injuring 35 others 8212; all waiting for a hearing.

8216;8216;It was a rain of fire,8217;8217; recalled Ghulam Hassan Gujri. 8216;8216;I heard a deafening blast. My body was drenched in blood8217;8217;. Gujri, a 58-year-old farmer 8212; with daughter Kulsooma 30 and two-year-old grandson Arif 8212; had travelled 20 km from Karhama to attend a marital dispute case. 8216;8216;We were waiting for the hearing to begin when the blast occurred. Everybody ran for their life. I was hit and could not move,8217;8217; Gujri said. He had lost contact with his daughter and grandson in the chaos. 8216;8216;I saw my daughter Kulsooma crying for help. There was blood all over her face. The child was nowhere,8217;8217; he said. 8216;8216;After 10 minutes of hell, people came and picked us up.8217;8217; Blood had clotted on his lips and his hands were scarred by splinters.

Gujri was restless and grabbed a doctor for information about his daughter and grandson. 8216;8216;My family back home would be waiting for us. Our lives are already full of misery. My daughter has problems with her in-laws and lives with me. We had come to attend the court,8217;8217; he said. 8216;8216;Now I don8217;t know whether she and her child are alive or not. Why will anybody want to target us. We are poor people,8217;8217; Gujri said.

Though everyone told Gujri that they were alright, a paramedic who had accompanied the injured to Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Science, Soura, said Kulsooma and Arif were in critical condition.

Next to Gujri8217;s bed lies Mohammad Ashraf Beigh. Shrapnel had damaged his face. He couldn8217;t say much as his mouth was swollen. His family has no clue and there was no way to contact them as the village doesn8217;t have phones.

Mohammad Akbar Mir from village Baniyari has shrapnel wounds on the chest and knee. 8216;8216;I was standing next to a tree and that saved me,8217;8217; he said. 8216;8216;I saw the grenade landing right in the middle of a group of women. I saw people falling in the small stream. An infant was struggling to come out,8217;8217; he said. 8216;8216;For a moment I felt, shrapnel had cut off my leg.8217;8217;

Mir had not been able to find his neighbours, who had come with him. 8216;8216;People were crying for help all around. I limped out and hitched a ride with a man on scooter, who took me to Hajan. I left a message for my family with the police there and was carried here in an ambulance,8217;8217; he said. 8216;8216;Why will anybody attack in such a place,8217;8217; his mother said.

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This is the second attack in the last three days where villagers fell victim to a blast. In Tral, six villagers were killed and dozens injured when militants blasted an improvised explosive device.

Muzamil Jaleel

Muzamil Jaleel is a Deputy Editor at The Indian Express and is widely recognized as one of India’s most authoritative voices on Jammu & Kashmir, national security, and internal affairs. With a career spanning over 30 years, he has provided definitive on-the-ground reportage from the heart of the Kashmir conflict, bearing witness to historic political transitions and constitutional shifts. Expertise and Investigative Depth Muzamil’s work is characterized by a rare combination of ground-level immersion and high-level constitutional analysis. His expertise includes: Conflict & Geopolitics: Decades of reporting on the evolution of the Kashmir conflict, the Indo-Pak peace process, and the socio-political dynamics of the Himalayan region. Constitutional Law: Deep-dive analysis of Article 370 and Article 35A, providing clarity on the legal and demographic implications of their abrogation in 2019. Human Rights & Accountability: A relentless investigator of state and non-state actors, uncovering systemic abuses including fake encounters and the custodial death of political workers. International War Reporting: Beyond South Asia, he provided on-the-spot coverage of the final, decisive phase of the Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009. Landmark Exposés & Impact Muzamil’s reporting has repeatedly forced institutional accountability and shaped national discourse: The Kashmir Sex Scandal (2006): His investigative series exposed a high-profile exploitation nexus involving top politicians, bureaucrats, and police officers, leading to the sacking and arrest of several senior officials. Fake Encounters: His reports blew the lid off cases where innocent civilians were passed off as "foreign terrorists" by security forces for gallantry awards. SIMI Investigations: He conducted a massive deep-dive into the arrests of SIMI members, using public records to show how innocuous religious gatherings were often labeled as incriminating activities by investigative agencies. The Amarnath Land Row: Provided critical context to the 2008 agitation that polarized the region and altered its political trajectory. Over the years, Muzamil has also covered 2002 Gujarat riots, Bhuj earthquake, assembly elections in Bihar for Indian Express. He has also reported the peace process in Northern Ireland, war in Sri Lanka and national elections in Pakistan for the paper. Awards and Fellowships His "Journalism of Courage" has been honored with the industry's most prestigious accolades: Four Ramnath Goenka Awards: Recognized for J&K Reportage (2007), On-the-Spot Reporting (2009), and Reporting on Politics and Government (2012, 2017). Kurt Schork Award: From Columbia University for international journalism. Sanskriti Award: For excellence in Indian journalism and literature. IFJ Tolerance Prize: For his empathetic and nuanced reporting in South Asia. International Fellowships: Served as a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley and worked with The Guardian, The Observer, and The Times in London. He has also received Chevening fellowship and a fellowship at the Institute of Social Studies, Hague, Netherlands. Professional Presence Current Location: New Delhi (formerly Bureau Chief, Srinagar). Education: Master’s in Journalism from Kashmir University. Social Media: Follow him for field insights and rigorous analysis on X (Twitter) @MuzamilJALEEL. ... Read More