{"id":6353,"date":"2026-04-29T09:36:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T09:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/two-kashmir-brothers-one-killed-by-rebels-another-by-army-26-years-later\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T09:36:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T09:36:15","slug":"two-kashmir-brothers-one-killed-by-rebels-another-by-army-26-years-later","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/two-kashmir-brothers-one-killed-by-rebels-another-by-army-26-years-later\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Kashmir brothers: One killed by rebels, another by army 26 years later"},"content":{"rendered":"<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p><strong>Indian-administered Kashmir<\/strong> \u2013 Rashid Ahmad Mughal was barely six when armed rebels barged into their home in Chunt Waliwar village, in Ganderbal district of Indian-administered Kashmir, on a freezing January night in 2000.<\/p>\n<p>At about midnight, nearly a dozen armed men broke the window by force and entered the Mughals\u2019 home, where six people were asleep \u2013 23-year-old Ishfaq, his 20-year-old sister Naseema, and younger brothers Ajaz, 8, and Rashid, 6, besides their two cousins.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 4 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/4\/28\/kashmir-seminary-declared-unlawful-under-anti-terror-law-sparks-outcry\">Kashmir seminary declared unlawful under Indian law, sparks outcry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/4\/9\/three-life-terms-for-kashmirs-aasiya-andrabi-fit-indias-broader-pattern\">Three life terms for Kashmir\u2019s Aasiya Andrabi fit India\u2019s \u2018broader pattern\u2019<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/4\/16\/why-many-kashmiris-are-donating-gold-breaking-piggy-banks-for-iran\">Why many Kashmiris are donating gold, breaking piggy banks for Iran<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 4 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/4\/24\/south-asias-gold-obsession-faces-soaring-price-challenges-at-weddings\">Gold is unaffordable, so South Asian brides turn to one-gram substitutes<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>The rebels had come looking for Ishfaq, who, the family admitted, worked for the Indian army, which controls the region.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe tried to flee,\u201d Naseema recalls, \u201cbut they shot him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As the family raised an alarm, the rebels took Ishfaq\u2019s body and fled into the dead of the night.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4528873\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4528873\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Ishfaq-Ahmad-Mughal-who-was-killed-in-2000-1777381873.jpg?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C513&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"Ishfaq Ahmad Mughal who was killed in 2000-\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4528873\">Ishfaq Ahmad Mughal was killed in 2000 by the Kashmiri rebels [Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Since then, the Mughal siblings have been hoping for the return of his remains so that they can perform his last rites in accordance with Islamic traditions.<\/p>\n<p>As the siblings waited for more than 26 years for closure on losing Ishfaq, another tragedy hit them last month.<\/p>\n<p>On March 31, Rashid, now 32, was shot dead by the Indian army for being a suspected rebel.<\/p>\n<p>The army said it launched an operation along with the police in the Arahama area of Ganderbal after receiving \u201cspecific intelligence input\u201d on the presence of \u201cterrorists\u201d, as Indian authorities and the media describe the rebels.<\/p>\n<p>The army said Rashid was killed during an exchange of fire with the rebels in a forest. But the residents reject the claim, calling it another instance of a \u201cfake encounter\u201d \u2013 staged extrajudicial killing of suspects by the Indian forces.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4528847\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4528847\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Identy-card-of-Rashid-Mughal-1777381723.jpeg?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C513&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"Identy card of Rashid Mughal\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4528847\">Residents said Rashid was the only college graduate in his village [Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In a further blow to the Mughal family, Rashid\u2019s body was buried 80km (50 miles) away in a graveyard marked for alleged rebels in the frontier town of Kupwara \u2013 a practice followed by the army in recent years to prevent the eruption of street protests.<\/p>\n<p>Only Ajaz was allowed by the authorities to attend the funeral.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"the-kashmir-conflict\">The Kashmir conflict<\/h2>\n<p>The killing of the two brothers over 26 years \u2013 one killed by suspected rebels and the other by the army \u2013 in many ways encapsulates the tragedy unfolding in Kashmir for decades.<\/p>\n<p>Kashmir is a disputed Himalayan territory divided between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan, but claimed by both in full, with neighbouring China also controlling a sliver of its land. An armed rebellion erupted on the Indian side in the late 1980s. To crush it, New Delhi sent nearly a million soldiers, with the conflict since then killing tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians.<\/p>\n<p>Anti-India sentiments in the Muslim-majority region intensified in 2019 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s right-wing government revoked Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which granted partial autonomy to Kashmir, and brought the region under New Delhi\u2019s direct control by dividing it into two federally-administered territories \u2013 Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.<\/p>\n<p>Modi\u2019s government defended the revocation by claiming it would end the armed rebellion and bring lasting peace to the region. However, nearly seven years later, Kashmir continues to remain on the edge, with incidents of suspected rebel attacks, as well as alleged extrajudicial killings, torture and preventive detention of residents continuing to dominate headlines.<\/p>\n<p>The Mughal family belongs to Kashmir\u2019s Gujjar community, a nomadic Muslim tribal group that historically sided with the Indian state. When the armed rebellion broke out in 1989, the forest-dwelling Gujjars were seen as the \u201ceyes and ears\u201d of the Indian forces for sharing intelligence and, at times, assisting troops in operations against the rebels.<\/p>\n<p>Over time, however, this relationship has frayed. Once trusted as a front-line community, the Gujjars and Bakarwals \u2013 the two main tribes in the region \u2013 now increasingly find themselves under pressure from the very system they once supported.<\/p>\n<p>Since the 2019 abrogation of Kashmir\u2019s special status, at least 11 Gujjars have been killed in suspected extrajudicial encounters, while more than 10 have suffered serious injuries, allegedly due to torture in custody, marking a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/features\/2025\/4\/8\/wave-of-kashmir-disappearances-mystery-deaths-spook-tribal-community\">stark shift<\/a> in the fortunes of a community once central to India\u2019s security apparatus in the region.<\/p>\n<p>Government policy changes have added to their concerns. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/features\/2024\/2\/27\/ahead-of-election-tension-brews-in-kashmir-over-bjps-tribal-quota-move\">Alterations in quotas<\/a> affected the marginalised community\u2019s access to jobs and education, triggering protests and resentment. They have also faced <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2020\/11\/20\/tribal-community-face-eviction-from-forests-in-kashmir\">eviction drives<\/a> and displacement, with authorities accusing them of illegally occupying forest land and demolishing their seasonal shelters.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"my-brother-wasn-t-a-rebel\">\u2018My brother wasn\u2019t a rebel\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Today, the Gujjars find themselves increasingly vulnerable amid evolving security challenges. Rashid\u2019s killing is seen by the community as part of that pattern.<\/p>\n<p>As soon as the news of the killing spread in Kashmir, hundreds of people hit the streets, rejecting the army\u2019s claims that he was a rebel and demanding an investigation into the March 31 \u201cencounter\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was busy with my work when I received a call from a local police official, saying that my brother had met with an accident and that I should reach the police station immediately,\u201d Rashid\u2019s elder brother, Ajaz Ahmad Mughal, a daily wage worker, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4528851\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4528851\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/The-place-where-encounter-took-place-and-where-the-body-of-Rashid-Ahmad-Mughal-was-lying-1777381734.jpeg?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C513&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"The place where encounter took place and where the body of Rashid Ahmad Mughal was lying-\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4528851\">The site where Rashid was killed in an \u2018encounter\u2019 with the Indian army [Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>When Ajaz reached the Ganderbal police station, he was taken to another station in Srinagar, some 30km (20 miles) away, where he saw a body lying inside an ambulance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe police said your brother was a militant and that he was killed by the army in an encounter,\u201d said Ajaz. \u201cHis face was mutilated, apparently to hide his identity. I identified him with his feet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rashid was a commerce graduate \u2013 the only one in the impoverished village \u2013 and therefore helped the mainly illiterate people in his community in accessing essential government documents.<\/p>\n<p>On the day he was killed, Rashid had left his home with the documents of some people he was helping \u2013 like he did every day before returning home by the evening.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHowever, this time, he didn\u2019t return and his phone was switched off,\u201d Ajaz recalled.<\/p>\n<p>The next morning, news about the army operation in nearby forests spread in the area. That is when, said Ajaz, people came to know about Rashid\u2019s killing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were absolutely devastated. How did my brother, who was a civilian until the day before, suddenly turn into a militant?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n<p>Ajaz said the clothes Rashid was found wearing when he saw his body did not belong to his brother, alleging the security forces put the clothes on him after the killing. The family asked why Rashid was never questioned or arrested by the police if he was an armed rebel.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4528849\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4528849\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Room-of-Rashid-AHMAD-Mughal-1777381728.jpg?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C513&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"Room of Rashid AHMAD Mughal\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4528849\">Rashid\u2019s room at their house in Chunt Waliwar village, Ganderbal, Kashmir [Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As protests and questions over the killing grew, the New Delhi-appointed governor of the disputed region ordered a magisterial inquiry into the killing. The authorities said a probe will be completed within seven days. It has been nearly a month now, and no inquiry report has yet been published.<\/p>\n<p>Al Jazeera reached out to the army and the regional police for their statements on the family\u2019s allegations, but received no response.<\/p>\n<p>However, a police official, on condition of anonymity since he was not authorised to speak to the media, told Al Jazeera the decision to return Rashid\u2019s body to the family would be taken based on the \u201cnature of the inquiry report\u201d submitted by the magistrate.<\/p>\n<p>The police official also said Rashid had no adverse police records and that he had never been summoned for questioning for any rebellion-related case.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"prepared-a-grave-for-rashid\">\u2018Prepared a grave for Rashid\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Even as the government investigates the killing, the Mughal family doubts it will lead anywhere, noting that numerous such probes ordered in Kashmir in the past yielded little or no outcome.<\/p>\n<p>Experts say such probes by magistrates, who are members of the same bureaucracy that governs the region, lead to little or no remedial action.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe very least that can be done is a time-bound probe by a judicial magistrate answerable to the chief justice of a high court,\u201d Ravi Nair, executive director of the South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4528845\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4528845\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/House-of-Rashid-Ahmad-Mughal-1777381717.jpg?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C513&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"House of Rashid Ahmad Mughal\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4528845\">The house of the Mughals in Chunt Waliwar village [Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>According to data compiled by the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), there were at least 108 cases of rights violations by the Indian forces between 2008 and 2018, where probes were ordered, but no one has been prosecuted to date. JKCCS is now a defunct rights organisation after its founder, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2021\/11\/23\/india-kashmir-khurram-parvez-arrest-human-rights-uapa-terror-law\">Khurram Parvez<\/a>, was arrested under a stringent anti-terror law in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>In 2018, the Indian government informed the parliament that it received 50 requests from the then-regional government for the prosecution of security forces accused of rights violations. It denied sanction in 47 cases, while the matter is still pending in the remaining three.<\/p>\n<p>Since the onset of the armed rebellion in 1989, between 8,000 and 10,000 people have <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2021\/12\/10\/india-kashmir-human-rights-crackdown-activists\">disappeared<\/a> in Kashmir, according to the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), which represents the families of the missing.<\/p>\n<p>As of December 2025, government data shows that the region recorded the highest number of arrests under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for five consecutive years. In 2021, the federal government informed the parliament that as many as 33 custodial deaths took place in Kashmir between 2016 and 2021. The next year, an analysis of data provided by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) revealed 38 cases of alleged extrajudicial killings in Kashmir \u2013 the highest in India that year.<\/p>\n<p>Human rights experts say the 1990 Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act (AFSPA), a controversial law that provides impunity to the army in Kashmir, acts as a legal shield for the accused members of the security forces.<\/p>\n<p>Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director for Human Rights Watch, told Al Jazeera that despite several cases of extrajudicial killings in Kashmir and families clearly identifying the alleged perpetrators, not much action has been taken by the authorities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnfortunately, there is a culture of impunity that has perpetuated such abuses. The Defence Ministry restricts sanction to prosecute soldiers, while the Home Ministry has shielded paramilitary forces,\u201d she said, demanding a repeal of the AFSPA \u201cand all other laws that provide security forces immunity from prosecution\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJustice and accountability are key to lasting peace,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4528843\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4528843\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/B-com-degree-of-Rashid-AHmad-Mugha-1777381712.jpeg?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C513&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"B com degree of Rashid AHmad Mughal\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4528843\">The commerce degree marksheet of Rashid Ahmad Mughal [Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Praveen Donthi, senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, an international think tank, says India\u2019s 2019 move to revoke Article 370 was aimed at \u201cfully integrating Kashmir into the union and end[ing] separatism and militancy\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHowever, seven years down the line, the situation remains precarious. The conflict is far from resolved, and militancy still has the capacity to ramp up at will,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe pressure on security forces to maintain peace and stability may be leading to procedural errors and excesses.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, retired Indian army commander, DS Hooda, argues that the army \u201cdoes not tolerate such incidents and has taken action if they found any wrongdoing by their soldiers\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was an army investigation that revealed that one of the officials was involved, and the accused was punished by the army court,\u201d Hooda said, referring to a staged killing of three civilians dubbed as rebels by the army in Kashmir\u2019s Shopian area in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>The army later acknowledged its soldiers <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2020\/9\/18\/indian-army-admits-wrongdoing-in-killing-three-kashmiris\">exceeded powers<\/a> under the AFSPA law and sentenced an accused soldier to life imprisonment. He was later suspended by an armed forces tribunal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe army carries out its own investigation. There is no impunity and if they find anything wrong, they take action. This is not an organisation thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But the Mughal siblings say they had never thought a tragedy that struck them 26 years ago would return in such a devastating way, reopening old wounds and leaving them once again searching for answers and closure.<\/p>\n<p>They say their suffering has not ended, with the years only deepening their grief as they wait for the return of the remains of their siblings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have prepared a grave for Rashid. We will bury him in our own graveyard,\u201d says his sister Naseema. \u201cIt will feel as though he is close to us.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Indian-administered Kashmir \u2013 Rashid Ahmad Mughal was barely six when armed rebels barged into their home in Chunt Waliwar village, in Ganderbal district of Indian-administered Kashmir, on a freezing January night in 2000. At about midnight, nearly a dozen armed men broke the window by force and entered the Mughals\u2019 home, where six people were &#8230; <a title=\"Two Kashmir brothers: One killed by rebels, another by army 26 years later\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/29\/two-kashmir-brothers-one-killed-by-rebels-another-by-army-26-years-later\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Two Kashmir brothers: One killed by rebels, another by army 26 years later\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6354,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6353"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6353\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}