In dramatic turnaround of events, Naseer Ahmed Pandit, a resident of Karimabad village of Pulwama decamped with two AK rifles on March 27, 2015 from the residence of PDP Minister Altaf Bukhari's residence.
On 7 April, 2016, Naseer Ahmad Pandit and Inamul Haq alias Waseem Malla were killed in an encounter with a joint team of local police, CRPF and Rashtriya rifles at Vehil village near Shopian.
As nearly after 30 months after his killing Kashmir News Bureau visits his home, the tense serene of politically charged and known as bastion of pro-freedom sentiment Karimabad welcome us.
The friends of Naseer Ahmad Pandit welcome us as they have very fond memories of Naseer Ahmed Pandith as a very humble and helping human being. A friend of Naseer while pleading anonymity stated “I remember Naseer Ahmed Pandit as a very wonderful friend known for his humane values and rendering helping hand to everyone. Naseer was always for justice and launched a war against drug menace but got no cooperation from the authorities .”
According to his family members and friend one night changed the Naseer’s course of action when he took a known drug peddler along with drugs to police station quarrel erupted and according to them his own policeman took side of criminal thus forcing Naseer to shun the path of police and turn into a militant.
Sad but not fazed father of the Naseer Pandith, Ghulam Rasool Pandith stated – “Naseer was courageous guy and at one stage the lone person to reject all threats and cast his vote. He wanted to see his area free of drugs and at that time we also used to hear the then IG Kashmir AG Mir echoing the sentiment of Drug free Kashmir but Naseer in his battle against drug supply received threats, intimidations and no support from his own department and thus chose to join militant ranks to get justice. I am proud of my martyr son as he stood for righteous causes.”
In Naseer’s story of being militant lies also the structure of rotten institutions that just use law and order, justice selectively and not in totality and hence with every passing day alienation touches sky.