Mother’s prayer gets answered after 22 months as Jhelum returns her son’s body

Abid Bashir
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19 Jan 2026

Srinagar, Jan 19: The river Jhelum flowed quietly at Gandbal on Monday, as if aware that it was about to return what it had taken nearly two years ago. On its banks, grief gathered early — women in clusters, men standing in stunned silence, eyes fixed on the water that had kept a mother waiting for 22 endless months. When the body of Showkat Ahmad Sheikh, 40, finally surfaced, a collective cry rose from the riverbank. Local sand extractor Ishfaq Ahmad was among the first to spot the body during routine extraction work. “The body was fresh. We recognized him immediately. His identity card was found safe in his purse, confirming it was Showkat,” he said, his voice choked. Bilal Ahmad, a local sand extractor, whose shovel pulled Showkat’s body, fell unconscious soon after it fished out from the river. “When we brought him ashore, he was unconscious. The card was intact and handed over to the area president,” said Ishfaq. The recovery reopened wounds from the tragic boat capsize of April 16, 2024, when eight people, including several schoolchildren, lost their lives in the Jhelum. While the bodies of all other victims were recovered, Showkat had remained missing — leaving behind a mother trapped between hope and heartbreak. For months, she came to the river every day. She sat on its banks in silence, sometimes crying, sometimes praying, sometimes just staring at the water, as if expecting her son to rise from it. On January 11 this year, when a shoe with a human foot believed to be Showkat’s was found by sand extractors, her visits became longer and her prayers more desperate. “She never gave up,” said Fatima, a neighbour, as women wailed uncontrollably near the river. “Since January 11, she would spend hours here, crying in pain and praying to Almighty Allah to return her son’s body. Today, finally, her prayers were answered.” Soon after the recovery, police reached the spot and completed all legal and medico-formalities. The area remained heavy with silence, broken only by sobs and whispered prayers. Men lowered their heads as the body was carefully placed in a vehicle, while women clutched each other, crying aloud, some beating their chests in grief. An official of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) told Rising Kashmir that the mortal remains were retrieved by a local sand extractor in collaboration with the SDRF and the Quick Reaction Team, Jhelum. “After almost 22 months, the mortal remains of Showkat Ahmad Sheikh, son of Abdul Gani Sheikh, resident of Gandbal, were recovered,” the official said. After the completion of legal formalities, Showkat’s body was taken for last rites — a journey his mother had been waiting for, for nearly two years. As the funeral procession moved away from the river, the Jhelum flowed on, leaving behind a mother whose faith never dried and a locality that will forever remember how patience, prayer and pain finally met closure on its banks.