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The hills were steep and Farwan Shallah’s men were tired by the time they reached the deserted section of the Karakoram Highway. The soldiers immediately began to search for a target of opportunity. A few days ago, two of their Sunni Muslim brothers had been murdered in Gilgit. The Sunnis had vowed to seek revenge.
They hadn’t been waiting long when they spotted a group of vehicles headed toward them. Farwan held up his binoculars and scanned the road. A moment later, he announced to his men, “One bus and three minibuses.”
As the convoy approached, a few of Shallah’s men positioned themselves in the middle of the road, brandishing their AK-47s. The rest of his men took cover positioned on either side of the road. One of his men loaded a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) into its firing tube and hunkered down behind some boulders, preparing to take out any vehicle refusing to stop.
The lead bus drew within fifty meters and began to slow until it came to a full stop twenty feet from Shallah’s most trusted man, Asfand. The tall broad terrorist strode over to the door of the bus and motioned with the tip of his rifle for the bus driver to open the door.
Scared and unsure what to do, the driver opened the door. Asfand and three other men boarded the bus. Shallah’s men boarded the minibuses.
Asfand walked down the aisle asking each man for his personal papers. One at a time, Asfand identified those of the Shia sect and ordered them to stand.
“Tie their hands,” Asfand barked to his men. One by one, their hands were quickly bound behind their backs, and they were escorted off the bus. Outside, Farwan Shallah rounded up the suspect Shias as they exited the vehicle and forced them to stand with their backs against the large bus.
Inside the main bus, Asfand interrogated the driver, doing his best to determine what flavor of Muslim he was.
“How often do you pray daily?” Asfand demanded.
“Three, I mean, five times a day,” the rattled bus driver stammered.
Asfand pressed the muzzle of his AK-47 against the driver’s head and asked, “In the Fajr Adhan, what do you say?”
The phrase that all Sunnis added to the Fajr Adhan was As-salatu Kyayrun Minan-nawm (Peace is better than sleep). The hated Shias added Hayya’ala Khayril ‘Amal (Hasten to the best).
The bus driver acted as if Asfand was speaking a foreign language. In truth, the man was so panicked he began to pee himself. Because the bus driver hadn’t provided a satisfactory answer, the terrorist poked the tip of the gun into the driver’s temple and sneered, “I thought so.” Then, “Get up!” Asfand ordered, jamming the gun into the driver’s ribs.
The driver yelped and pleaded, “I’m a Sunni. I’m a Sunni,” but Asfand was unconvinced.
The bus driver was the last of the sixteen men who stood outside with their backs against the bus. Even though the men would soon be killed, Farwan Shallah thought a speech was in order.
“For the last 1,400 years, you and your families have chosen to follow Ali, where we chose to follow the rightful Abu Bakr, who was chosen by Allah. Sunnis believe in the power of God and in this life while Shias look forward to the rewards in the afterlife. We have been sent by Allah himself to send you there.”
With his speech over, Farwan Shallah opened fire on the defenseless men. A second later, his men joined in, emptying their weapons. All sixteen men were killed but only fifteen were Shias. The bus driver, tragically, had indeed been a Sunni.