At least 13 people, including four children and a soldier, were killed and 57 injured as the Pakistan Army carried out one of the most intense artillery and mortar shelling incidents in years, targeting forward villages along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu Kashmir, Press Trust of India reported.
This followed Indian missile strikes against terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), officials said on Wednesday.
Hundreds of residents were forced to take refuge in underground bunkers or shift to safer places. The indiscriminate shelling destroyed houses, vehicles, and various buildings, including a Gurdwara, causing panic among residents, especially in the worst-hit districts of Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu region and Baramulla and Kupwara in north Kashmir.
Officials said the Indian Army responded to the shelling effectively, causing many casualties on the enemy side and destroying several posts involved in firing.
This was the first instance of such intense shelling since the renewal of the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan on February 25, 2021.
Poonch district accounted for all 13 deaths. Officials added that 42 people were injured there, with two reported to be in critical condition.
The shelling was reported from multiple locations along the LoC in Poonch, including Balakote, Mendhar, Mankote, Krishna Ghati, Gulpur, Kerni, and even the district headquarters. Many houses and vehicles were damaged.
The shelling from across the border was intense until noon and later continued intermittently, mostly confined to the Poonch sector for several more hours. Locals had difficulty evacuating the injured due to the heavy bombardment, which also hit Poonch bus stand, damaging several buses.
Three Sikh men died when an artillery shell hit a Gurdwara and nearby houses in Poonch town. Several parties from Punjab condemned the incident.
Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said in a post on X, “Strongly condemn the inhuman attack by Pakistani forces on the sacred Central Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha Sahib in Poonch, in which three innocent Gursikhs, including Bhai Amrik Singh Ji (a raagi Singh), Bhai Amarjeet Singh and Bhai Ranjit Singh lost their lives.”
Ten persons, including five children, were injured in cross-border shelling in the Uri sector of Baramulla district, while three others were injured in Rajouri district. Several houses caught fire due to shelling in Karnah sector of Kupwara district.
The deceased were identified as Balvinder Kour alias “Ruby” (33), Mohd Zain Khan (10), Zoya Khan (12), Mohd Akram (40), Amrik Singh (55), Mohd Iqbal (45), Ranjeet Singh (48), Shakeela Bi (40), Amarjeet Singh (47), Maryam Khatoon (7), Vihaan Bhargav (13), Mohd Rafi (40), and a Lance Naik of the Army.
This was the 13th consecutive night of unprovoked firing along the borders in Jammu and Kashmir amid heightened tensions following the Pahalgam attack.
A defence spokesman said that during the intervening night of May 6 and 7, the Pakistan Army resorted to arbitrary firing, including artillery shelling, from posts across the LoC and the International Border opposite Jammu Kashmir.
He added that the Indian Army responded in a proportionate manner.
Army sources said Indian troops caused many casualties on the enemy side after destroying several of their posts.
Authorities shut all educational institutions in the five border districts of Jammu region on Wednesday.
Ceasefire violations have been rare since India and Pakistan renewed the ceasefire agreement in February 2021.
Congress MLA from Rajouri, Iftkhar Ahmed, visited the injured undergoing treatment at GMC hospital in Rajouri and donated blood along with his supporters. He urged the public to come forward and donate blood to support medical efforts during this critical time.
“We are ready to sacrifice everything for the integrity and sovereignty of the nation. The nation comes first, and we should stand united to face any challenges that come our way,” he said.
Principal of GMC Rajouri, Amarjeet Singh Bhatia, said the hospital is fully prepared to deal with the situation. “All necessary arrangements are in place to ensure the best treatment for the patients,” he said.
Authorities in Poonch have designated nine public shelter camps with adequate amenities for people wishing to relocate from the forward villages affected by the shelling.
“Though there was no cross-border firing in our village, we have been told to shift to ITI College in R S Pura where necessary arrangements have been made by the government for our lodgment in view of the prevailing tense situation,” said Liaqat Ali, a resident of Jorian village near the International Border.
Ali recalled that his village had suffered immensely in the past and was even burned to the ground by Pakistani shelling.
The intense shelling from across the border began shortly after Indian armed forces carried out missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and PoK to avenge the April 22 terror attack in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which had left 26 civilians dead. PTI
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