Safe passage, no weapons: How the Hazratbal siege ended

In the small hours of 16 November 1993, with Srinagar under curfew, about sixty-five men filed out of the Hazratbal shrine. They spoke little. Their weapons stayed inside. One negotiator had even suggested they “throw them in the well” to avoid the theatre of a handover in a sacred place. It was a quiet end to a tense month.

The standoff began on 15 October 1993 after reports that armed men had taken control of the shrine. For weeks, tempers ran high across the Valley. Yet the resolution was shaped by patience: talks brokered by trusted clerics and local officials, and a security cordon designed to prevent the crisis from spilling into the streets.

How it ended

The core deal was straightforward. Those inside could leave without their arms. As they emerged, officials checked identities;