Qaisar Mirza and the Chase That Lives On

From highways to high passes, journeys with Qaisar Mirza reveal a life framed by friendship and fearless reporting.

- Khalid Bashir Ahmad

Qaisar Mirza was a delightful person and a dedicated broadcast/print journalist who reported for Voice of America and Associated Press on Kashmir during its most turbulent years during the 1990s. His death in a road accident in Delhi this day in 2002 was a great shock.

I vividly recall two memorable journeys I have had in his company. One was our road and train travel to Delhi in the mid-1990s, accompanied by Jeelani Qadri and late Jan Muhammad Koul.

From Srinagar, we hired a taxi to Jammu, where we were booked in a 2-tier sleeper coach of the Jhelum Express. But fate had other plans. By the time we reached Jammu Tawi Railway Station, the train had already departed.

Stranded, we debated our options. Young Fayaz Qadri, who had driven us in his Fiat to the railway station, boldly offered to chase the train and catch it at the next station. He pressed the accelerator, driving at 100-120 km/h on the highway. My God, what madness it was! We were flying down the road as if in a James Hadley Chase thriller. Yet, when we reached Bari Brahmana, the Jhelum Express had already steamed away.

What followed was a relentless, nerve-wracking pursuit. At every station, the train had just left. The weak-hearted among us pleaded with Fayaz to slow down, reminding him that life was more precious than catching a train. But he remained determined, more intent on the chase than any of us.