Mourning In Kashmir As Mother Of Three Hit By Grenade, Succumbs

It was a simple shopping trip which proved fatal. Death of 40-year-old Abida Quasar, a mother of three children, has shocked the Kashmir Valley. Abida succumbed to injuries tuesday evening after being wounded in a grenade attack on November 3.

On November 3, militants hurled a grenade near the Tourist Reception Centre (TRC) in the busy Srinagar Sunday market, injuring at least 12 civilians, including Abida. 

Abida was admitted to hospital with severe head injuries. She remained in critical condition and was on ventilator support.

"My sister has been martyred," Waseem Raja, her brother said after Abida succumbed to injuries. "She was hit by a grenade splinter in the head. Her only fault was that she had gone out shopping."

Abida is survived by her three young children and her husband, a teacher in the education department. Her eldest child is just 10 years old.

Raja said the moment he first heard about the blast near the TRC and his sister getting injured he rushed to the hospital. "The grenade splinter had struck her head, passing through it," he said.

He said the doctors did everything they could, but the injury was severe-hitting the frontal lobe of her brain. "The doctors tried their best," he added, "but they kept insisting that her condition was critical."

"My sister went to the TRC with the simple hope of letting her children play in the park," he said. "What is happening in Kashmir?"  

The death was condoled by leaders across the political spectrum. While National Conference leader and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his father and party President Farooq Abdullah in a statement extended sympathies to the family, PDP leader Iltija Mufti stated that her death is not just another grim statistic.

"Her death is a cruel reminder of how this never-ending cycle of violence continues to consume innocent lives-a raging, uncontrollable fire that destroys everything it touches," Iltija said.

Abdullah had called the incident as deeply disturbing and asked the security establishment to do everything possible to end such attacks.

 “The last few days have been dominated by headlines of attacks and encounters in parts of the valley. Today’s news of a grenade attack on innocent shoppers at the ‘Sunday market’ in Srinagar is deeply disturbing,” the Chief Minister said. 

While emphasising there can be no justification for targeting innocent civilians, he said, “the security apparatus must do everything possible to end this spurt of attacks at the earliest so that people can go about their lives without any fear.”

After the attack Lieutenant Governor of J&K Manoj Sinha spoke to Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat and other senior officials of the security agencies directing them for “an effective and forceful response to punish the terrorists and their associates.” "Terrorists targeting our citizens will have to pay a very heavy price for their actions. You have full freedom to crush terror outfits and leave no stone unturned to complete this mission," Sinha told the officials.eral of Police Nalin Prabhat and other senior officials of the security agencies directing them for “an effective and forceful response to punish the terrorists and their associates.” "Terrorists targeting our citizens will have to pay a very heavy price for their actions. You have full freedom to crush terror outfits and leave no stone unturned to complete this mission," Sinha told the officials.

Hilal Akbar Lone, the MLA from the area, expressed his grief, saying, "It was devastating to learn that Abida Quasar, a resident of Naidkhai, my native village, passed away today in the hospital. Abida was one of the victims of the grenade attack targeting innocent people in Srinagar. Whoever committed this act can never be considered human, and those who aided them are just as venomous as the perpetrator."

Every Sunday thousands of people, from different parts of the Valley, throng flea market at Srinagar, purchasing second-hand goods, mostly clothes, imported from different parts of the country and the world. 

The TRC is around one-km from the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s Gupkar residence. The TRC is less than 100 meters from the official broadcaster, Radio Kashmir Srinagar and Doordashan Srinagar. The Government Arts Emporium, Directorate of Information, the Traffic police Departments are nearby the spot.