Nasser Ahmed: The Fallen Hero of Jammu and Kashmir

Forty-six-year-old Naseer Ahmad was the sole trooper from Jammu and Kashmir among the 40 slain CRPF men killed in Pulwama attack on Thursday. He was the lone breadwinner in the family of four.

Born in a middle-class family in Dodasan Bala village of Rajouri district, Naseer lost his father Faqar Din in 1977 when he was four years old. Being youngest among the six siblings, his responsibility was on the shoulders of his elder brother Siraj U Din, who took care of the family by doing odd jobs. Nevertheless, he strove to save for books, his own education as well as Naseer’s. Sometimes, the brothers would be forced to borrow their friends’ uniforms, but that did not stop them from pursuing education anyway.

Naseer was admitted in a government school. He used to play volleyball and would go to the adjacent village for practice, recollects his family.

Siraj U Din, after finishing standard X, decided to serve in the armed wing of the Jammu and Kashmir police, and was posted in Jammu. Naseer, however, could not study beyond standard IX owing to the financial problems.

In 1997, Naseer submitted a form with an aim to join CRPF. Siraj recalls his happiness when Nasser applied for the job. Since childhood, he would be fascinated by the army uniform, and would always imagine himself wearing one. He wanted to serve on the frontline. “He came directly to me where I was posted, and told me about the submission,” says Siraj.

On June 17, 1997, Naseer’s dream came true when he saw his name in the selection list. “Naseer came with a box of sweets which he had bought from the money he had earned by doing labour, and distributed them among the villagers. “Bhai, main CRPF mai burtyy hogaya (Brother, I got recruited in CRPF)," he told me with tears of happiness in his eyes,” Siraj says.

Naseer was known for his modest behavior, and for being a positive person in his locality. He would offer prayers five times at the local mosque. “The whole village had gathered to see him off when he left for training. People gave him gifts, hugged him, and prayed for his safety. His love for a career with forces was known to everyone,” says Siraj.

Soon after his training, he was posted in Assam. He was transferred to multiple other places, and finally, he was posted in Jammu in 76 battalion of the CRPF camp located in Channi.

Naseer’s elder sister, Shamsheer Begum, now 53 years old, was married to Border Security Forces (BSF) trooper Mohammad Rafiq. In 2007, her 14-year-old daughter Shanaz Akhtar was allegedly abducted by the militants from her residence located in Hasyote in Thana Mandi. Later, the dead body was reportedly recovered from a nearby forest with the bodies of two other girls.

In 2008, Naseer got married to Shazia Kounsar, who is now 37 years old. After his marriage, he shifted to Channi with his family, and started living in a rented accommodation.

Naseer had two kids — daughter Falak, now eight years old, and son Kashif, now six years old. Falak is now in standard VI and Kashif is in standard III. He would fulfill the needs of his wards, and made sure that his children wouldn’t face any difficulty, which he faced during his childhood.

During the past few years, Naseer was transferred to many districts in J&K, but his family kept living in Channi. In 2014, when Kashmir was inundated, he was posted in Anantnag district of South Kashmir. He became quite well known in his battalion for saving his colleagues during the flood.

On February 14, 2019, Naseer was in-charge of one of the buses in the convoy that was travelling towards Srinagar from Jammu. “He was supposed to drop the convoy in Srinagar, and return soon after, which never happened,” says Siraj.

After the convoy crossed Pulwama, the suicide attack by the Jaish-e-Mohammed militant claimed lives of at least 40 CRPF men. Naseer was one of them.

After two hours of the attack, at around 5:00 PM, Siraj received a call about the attack, and found out that the officials were not sure about Naseer. A few hours later, a list of slain CRPF men was declared. “I saw the list. My brother’s name was second in the list, which left me completely shaken up,” said Siraj.

On Friday, the wreath-laying ceremony was conducted in Srinagar. Later, Naseer’s coffin was airlifted to his native village where thousands of people had gathered to attend his funeral prayers.

“People welcomed Naseer by showering flowers and candies on his coffin. We laid him to rest and raised Islamic creed behind,” says Siraj.

Next day, Satya Pal Malik, governor of J&K, announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs 20 lakh to Naseer's family.