Muslims perform last rites of 80-year-old Kashmiri Pandit woman at Kulgam’s Y K Pora

At a time when Kashmir is under the grip of heightened tensions in the wake of the killing of a Kashmiri Pandit employee by militants in central district of Budgam, Muslims and Kashmiri Pandits continued to present a united front by performing the last rites of an 80-year-old Kashmiri Pandit woman in Kulgam's Y K Pora village.

The 80-year-old woman had gone to Mattan, Anantnag to attend a marriage ceremony during which her condition deteriorated and she breathed her last. She was brought to her native village Y K Pora in Kulgam, where hundreds of Muslims, especially neighbours and locals, were waiting for her body.

Locals said that they had been living together for decades and share a strong bond.

“The deceased was a great human being who would visit



Muslims on the occasion of festivals and also whenever anyone among us would die. She was part and parcel of the composite culture and today, it is our duty to return the favour by ensuring her last rites are performed as per their religious rites,” said Altaf Ahmed, a local.

The deceased, Dulari Bhat, 80, wife of late Janki Nath, spent all her years in her native village, Y K Pora, along with locals of the area.

Subash Bhat, the son of Dulari, said that they are thankful to the Muslims of the area who stood with them in this hour of grief. “We have been living together and we didn’t flee Kashmir despite the fact that our father was killed in the 90’s. Since then, we have been living together with Muslims of the area, who are with us in the time of this great loss,” he said.