June 5, 2026 – The body of Mohammad Ashraf, a resident of Srinagar who had been missing for six days, was recovered on Friday from the Lidder River in the Aamad area of Pahalgam, in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. Police and rescue teams were immediately deployed to the riverbank upon the body’s discovery and successfully retrieved it from the water. The body has been sent for medico-legal examination, and authorities have initiated proceedings to determine the circumstances of the death.
Ashraf’s disappearance had triggered search operations in the Pahalgam region, a tourist hub that has seen elevated attention from both security agencies and the public following last year’s tragic events at the Baisaran meadow. The recovery of a missing person from the Lidder — one of Kashmir’s most picturesque and photographed rivers — is a reminder of the quiet tragedies that unfold beyond the region’s tourist postcard image. The Lidder, which flows through the length of the Pahalgam valley before joining the Jhelum, is prone to strong currents especially during the summer snowmelt season, and has historically claimed lives of locals and visitors alike.
Further investigation is underway, and police said more details will be released once the post-mortem report is available.
