Bhat Yasir
The peaceful atmosphere of Kalani village in Jammu’s Arnia sector was shattered on Tuesday when a mortar shell, fired from across the border, crashed through the tin roof of a small home.
Fourteen-year-old Zoya Khan and her 12-year-old brother Zain were sitting inside when the explosion occurred. The blast killed both siblings instantly, and their father, Rameez Khan, was left severely wounded.
“They were just children,” lamented a neighbor, clutching the siblings’ torn books and school uniforms. “One moment they were laughing, and the next, everything was reduced to dust and blood.”
Kalani, a small village just a few kilometers from the international border with Pakistan, has often endured the tension of cross-border firing. However, residents say that Tuesday’s shelling was unlike anything they had ever witnessed.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve experienced firing here, but it’s never been like this. This time, the shells hit our homes directly,” said Shabeer Ahmad, a local resident who witnessed the tragic scene. “I helped carry the children’s bodies to the ambulance.”
The Khan family’s home now lies in ruins, destroyed and silent. Zoya and Zain were buried side by side in the village graveyard, their schoolbags gently placed at their feet. “We don’t want revenge,” said their father, Rameez, from his hospital bed, his voice trembling with grief. “We just want peace so our children can live.”
The siblings’ deaths were part of a wider wave of violence that struck several border villages across Jammu in the past 48 hours. Officials confirmed that at least 12 civilians, including four children, were killed in what is described as heavy, indiscriminate shelling from across the border. Dozens more were injured.
In Poonch, where civilian areas had not been targeted since the 1971 war, shells landed in residential neighborhoods, killing three civilians and injuring several others. In Mendhar sector, a woman named Balvinder Kour died, and her daughter was critically injured when a shell tore through their home in Mankote. In another nearby village, an elderly man died when the walls of his house collapsed after being hit by a shell.
Across Arnia, R.S. Pura, Mendhar, and Poonch, homes were flattened, livestock killed, and schools closed indefinitely. Fires sparked by the explosions have only added to the devastation, forcing hundreds of families to flee to government-run relief camps.
“We heard explosions throughout the night. Every sound now feels like the beginning of another attack,” said a 10-year-old boy, his voice barely above a whisper, as he sat inside a crowded school-turned-shelter.
Senior officials confirmed that mortar shells and small arms fire were reported from Pakistani Rangers late Monday evening, continuing sporadically through Tuesday afternoon. “We have responded appropriately,” said a Border Security Force (BSF) spokesperson, adding that evacuation efforts are ongoing for civilians in high-risk zones.
Jammu Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar visited the injured at the Government Medical College Hospital and promised compensation, along with a full review of safety protocols. But many locals remain skeptical. “They only come after the damage has been done,” said Ayesha Begum, a widow whose house was destroyed in the previous shelling. “We get temporary shelters and promises, but our children continue to die.”
The Jammu Kashmir government has activated temporary shelters and distributed food and medical aid. Still, residents remain fearful of further escalation.
Meanwhile, in Kalani, Zoya and Zain’s mother remains in shock, unable to speak as she tries to process the loss of her children. Their school remains closed, its walls pockmarked with shrapnel.
The only sound now in the village is the quiet sobbing of a community mourning its youngest victims.
- News Deskhttps://thekashmiriyat.co.uk/author/kashmiriyat/
- News Deskhttps://thekashmiriyat.co.uk/author/kashmiriyat/
- News Deskhttps://thekashmiriyat.co.uk/author/kashmiriyat/
- News Deskhttps://thekashmiriyat.co.uk/author/kashmiriyat/
