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SRINAGAR, Kashmir — When a militant I had been following for nearly a year was killed in a shootout this spring in a very dangerous part of South Asia that I cover, I didn’t know what to do.

Should I go to his funeral?

His name was Sameer Tiger, and there was no doubt he was a killer. He had long, bushy hair and a reputation for quick violence in his corner of the disputed territory of Kashmir. I’d met relatives of one of his victims and sat on their floor with a fire crackling behind us. I watched them wipe away the tears, one after the other.

But, still, I was intrigued by Sameer Tiger. He represented something. For 70-plus years, India and Pakistan have been fighting over Kashmir, a stunning Himalayan mountain valley.