Update: I'm not sure what to make of this. Here is wire coverage of Mr. Farooq's injuries at Reuters and the AP. That doesn't exactly look "unscathed" to me.
The captions indicate that both photos were taken today, the 7th of January, yet the GK article below references the 6th. Does this mean that Amaan escaped unscathed yesterday, but wasn't so lucky in his coverage of the gunfights today? Or are these photos connected to the story above, with the dates mixed up by differing interpretations of time zones?
No clue, but either way it turns out, we here at Snapped Shot still hope Mr. Farooq makes a speedy recovery!
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Okay, a brief interlude from our interlude for this news flash:
Greater Kashmir photographer Amaan Farooq, seems to have gotten a little bit too close to the action for his comfort.
Srinagar, Jan 6: The Greater Kashmir lens man, Amaan Farooq, had a narrow escape on Wednesday while covering the encounter between militants and forces in Lal Chowk. Amaan after hearing the gunshots rushed towards the spot to discharge his professional duties.
“I stood near the STD shop along with another photographer outside the Sadder court. Soon firing followed and there was no chance to move anywhere,” Amaan said adding that a CRPF trooper shouted at him advising him to duck. “I followed his advice and laid down near an electric pole. Firing resumed and scores of bullets hit the electric pole under which I had taken the refuge. I thought now the bullet would hit me and I will get killed. But God was kind enough,” he said, adding that he saw A CRPF man and the policeman getting injured.
The photojournalist has taken some shots of police retrieving the body of a policeman killed in the encounter. For over one hour Amaan along with another photojournalist of Kashmir Times was holed up at the encounter site. “A shopkeeper was also holed up at the spot some 10 meters from me. He fainted in the face of the volleys of bullets being exchanged. When police came to our rescue we dragged that shopkeeper along,” Amaan added.
Thankfully, Amaan came away from the experience unscathed.
God is certainly gracious.
Tags: AP REUTERS fayaz kabli GK amaan farooq mukhtar khan #DailyFodder