Finally, my dead son proved to be a soldier: jawan’s father

Army approaches family in Kulgam’s Harmain village and decides to bury him with military honours

Buried 13 months after militants abducted and killed 24-year-old Army jawan Shakir Manzoor in south Kashmir, his father, Manzoor Ahmad Wagay, on Thursday said the funeral had brought a closure to him as “finally it was proven my son was a soldier and not a militant”.

“Since my son went missing on August 2, 2020, I have been knocking on the doors of police offices. I was told what if my son was in Pakistan [and became a militant]. Finally, it was proven he was a soldier and killed by militants,” Mr. Wagay stated. He identified his son’s body on Wednesday, after it was spotted in a village in Kulgam in a decomposed stater. He was able to recognise the hair, tooth and bangle of his son.

“The body was taken to Srinagar and the doctors too confirmed that the body looked like that of a 24-year-old youth. Later, I was handed over the body,” he remarked. “I am thankful to god that my son's body was recovered.”