The two Pakistani youth, Aftab and Qayyum, both aged twenty-two, had been sent as reinforcements to Kashmir after six other Lashkar operatives had died in firefights with the Indian Army in Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian Army and SOC had gotten wind of the two boys’ arrival and had sent a QRT to storm their hideout. Aftab and Qayyum had been killed in the ensuing fight, while two others, a Pakistani and a local operative, had escaped under the cover of darkness.

Inside the mosque, the smell of incense hung heavily in the air. Around two dozen men sat on the mattresses covering the cold stone floor of the mosque. Most were in white Pathani suits. Some spoke in hushed whispers; a few preferred silence.

But all had their eyes on Abu-Lakhvi, who was clad in a black Pathani suit.

‘We have gathered here to offer our prayers. We have gathered here to remember our fallen soldiers, our brethren, Aftab and Qayyum,’ Abu-Lakhvi addressed the gathering.

‘Aftab and Qayyum did not lead very comfortable lives. They were both sons of parents who had to work hard to get two meals a day for their large families. And yet they heard the call of humanity. They cried when their sisters were being insulted in Bosnia, Kashmir, the West Bank and Chechnya,’ Abu-Lakhvi said in a low, choked voice.

‘The young men left their ordinary lives and devoted themselves to the cause of the community. They gave themselves up for our organization’s mission. Because while their young Muslim sisters lived under the shadow of bayonets in Kashmir, Aftab and Qayyum could not spend their lives chasing US dollars, British pounds, girls in jeans, cars, Bollywood movies and land.

‘Instead, they came to us and learned what it means to be truly valiant. They learned to run, climb and swim. They learned how to fire guns, fight with swords and sticks. By the time they left for Kashmir to fight against India’s army, which occupies that piece of heaven, Aftab and Qayyum had been turned into lions.

‘Yesterday, those lions were put to sleep forever by the army. They were not defeated in the battlefield. They were outsmarted and taken by surprise. Aftab and Qayyum gave up their lives, turning into shaheeds, but not before taking out four Indian soldiers in their final, deadly encounter with the enemy.

‘Mehjabeen Khaala, this is the name of Qayyum’s mother. I fell at her feet. I said to her, “Ammi, congratulations, you gave birth to a lion, not a man of blood and flesh. Forgive me, Ammi, as I could not bring your son back alive from Kashmir.”