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Tral army man, father laid to rest amid sobs, tears

ESS AHMAD. Dated: 2/14/2018 1:52:00 PM

SRINAGAR, Feb 13: A pall of gloom descended Reshipora village of Tral in southern Pulwama district after the bodies a local army man and his father who were killed in a Fidayeen attack on an army base in Sujwan Jammu on Saturday reached the area.
Mohammad Iqbal Sheikh was among the six army men who were killed after the militants stormed the 36 Brigade of Light Infrantry camp in Sunjwan area of Jammu early Saturday. His father Ghulam Mohiudin Sheikh, who had gone to stay with his son a couple of weeks ago, was also killed in the attack. Besides, ten others including six women and four children were also injured in the attack. One of the injured women was nine months pregnant later delivered a baby through surgical procedure. All the three militants were later killed in the operation launched by the army.
The bodies of the father-son duo could not be airlifted to Srinagar on Monday as the air traffic was disrupted due to the bad weather conditions. However, the arrival of their bodies in their native village, witnesses said, created a state of mourning in the entire area.
Emotional scenes, they said, were witnessed during the last rites of the duo. "There were wails and cries all around during their last rites," an eyewitness said.
The bodies of the father and son were later taken to the local graveyard by a huge number of people where they were laid to rest next to each other amid tears and sobs.
A video in which the mother of deceased army soldier is seen crying later went viral on social media.
The deceased is survived by his mother, three sisters and a brother.
A relative of the killed duo said that Iqbal’s father and wife had gone stay with him nearly two weeks ago to avoid the cold weather conditions in valley.
"But we never knew that both father and son will return dead. The family is totally ruined. There can be no worst tragedy than mother-in-law and daughter-in-law becoming widows the same day," the family relative said.
Iqbal’s two sisters, according to relatives, are still unmarried. "Iqbal was working in army since 2006 to ensure his family's survival but the family is now completely shattered," he said.