“Cricket was his only passion and in fact he participated in different cricket tournaments that were organized and sponsored by Indian Army.”
Shopian: Waseem Ahmed Shah-the Lashkar-e-Taiba District Commander for South Kashmir’s Shopian district who along with his associate was killed in an encounter at Littar village on Saturday morning was a talented cricketer. He was called Wasim Akram by his friend circle for his bowling style.
“His bowling action perfectly matched Wasim Akram. He was our front line left arm bowler and always a wicket taker,” his team mates recalled during a colloquy with CNS reporter.
They revealed before joining militancy in 2014, Waseem used to run his own shop. “Shah, 23, also known as ‘Abu Osama Bhai’ was neither a stone pelter nor had shown any interest any militancy. Cricket was his only passion and in fact he participated in different cricket tournaments that were organized and sponsored by Indian Army,” they said.
“Waseem also participated in inter-district cricket tournaments.”
A college dropout, Waseem Shah, a resident of Heff-Shrimal in Shopian, joined militancy in 2014. His friends and family claim that he choose the perilous path to escape continuous harassment by police. “He belonged to a well-off family while his father was an orchardist, with middle class lifestyle,” they said.Shortly after joining militancy, according to police Waseem became the ‘don of Heff’ and carried out multiple attacks on Government forces.