“Insha Allah, hoga.”[102]
Mustakvil
Mustakvil, mustakvil, future… whose future?
Sufiyaan Sheikh
Samar stiled.
His mind went blank.
Static.
And then it kickstarted with the possibilities of what this pointed at.
Fuck.
His hand reached for his mobile, and he pressed his first Favourites contact. The call was cut, and Faris called back.
“Hello…”
“I need you,” Samar said. “Out of the militia. You may not be able to return.”
A pause. Then — “Ok.”
————————————————————
He was a doctor. A military surgeon. Missions for him were nothing but saving the human line of their attack. He did not think beyond bodies, blood, oxygen, suction. Had never needed to.
Before KDP.
And before Iram Aamir Haider.
Samar watched KDP sweep the 2014 Jammu Kashmir Legislative Assembly Elections and Aamir Haider tarnish his messiah reputation in a single breath. He watched it on his mobile, in a taxi, in Delhi, far away from the house where the entire senior leadership of KDP had gathered.
For him, it wasn’t a house worth being in anymore.
“Humaare yahaan se ghazal qubool karein… Abhi nahin. Masla ho jaayega. Aapko waqt aur taariq yahan se bhejenge.”
The live television streaming on his mobile played the recording on loop.
“What you just heard is a classified radio exchange between the Late Aamir Haider of Awaami Party and an unidentified terrorist handler from across the border,” the reporter announced. “Yes, you are right, we here at Times Kashmir are the first to break this news to our viewers! From the voice identification evidence that we have just received from our source, this is Aamir Haider. And it sounds suspiciously like treason.”
Samar swiped up the calls that were hanging up his screen. Adil, Qureshi, Amaal, Fahad. Jammu leaders, his MLAs who had won, members, media coordinator from Udhampur. All at once. He had won Udhampur with a resounding margin of thirty-six thousand votes. He continued to watch.
“From our very credible sources, we have been informed that this conspiracy runs deeper than anyone can imagine. And it comes at the perfect time because it changes everything. The child in question, who was infiltrated from across the border, is said to be the adopted son of Mohsin Sheikh — Sufiyaan Sheikh. You can see the birth certificate of Sheikh on your screens, and as per our sources, these adoption papers are forged. This orphanage does not exist… and breaking on Times Kashmir is the final result of the J&K Legislative Election.”
Samar sat up, pushing his specs higher on his nose.
KDP (49) | Awaami (20) | Janta Party (11) | Others (7)
“KDP has crossed the majority on its own! This is unprecedented in the modern history of this state, in an election that is not tampered with, or rigged, with a voter turnout that has broken all records. Atharva Singh Kaul-led Kashmir Development Party is set to form its first government in Jammu & Kashmir and the state is set to swear in its first Pundit, ex-military Chief Minister. What a day to be alive in India! What a day!”
Samar switched streams, and another local news channel was still talking about Aamir Haider.
“…if this is proven beyond all doubt, then this is yet another Kashmiri leader whose allegiance is marred. Aamir Haider was a pillar of the pro-Indian Kashmiri society of the 90s and early 2000s. Was he really playing double agent for the Pakistanis, Shazia?”
“Sourav, that’s a debatable topic now. But the fact that it is even a topic, speaks volumes about the god-like image Aamir Haider had cultivated even after his death. Especially after his death. He was an untouchable enigma as his party had erected this illusion. Now, we see that suddenly shaking…”
