Srinagar: Residents in the border areas of Kashmir spent an anxious night as guns roared from across the Line of Control following missile strikes by Indian armed forces on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir early Wednesday.
It was a long night for the residents living near the Line of Control (LoC), as Pakistani troops resorted to ceasefire violations after India carried missile strikes under ‘Operation Sindoor’ against nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba’s base in Muridke.
Heavy shelling by Pakistani troops was reported in Karnah and Uri sectors in north Kashmir’s Kupwara and Baramulla districts, respectively, officials said.
Security forces on this side of the fence also retaliated and cross-border shelling between the two sides was going on when last reports were received, officials said, adding that the Pakistani shelling forced people to take refuge in underground bunkers where they spent a tense night.
This was the 13th consecutive night of unprovoked firing along the borders in Jammu and Kashmir amid heightened tensions following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people, mostly tourists.
At least 10 civilians, including three children, were injured and many buildings were damaged after Pakistani forces resorted to heavy shelling in the Uri sector, the officials said.
A local from Uri, Atif Ahmad, said the residents had to flee to safer locations as the shelling was intense.
“We spent a sleepless night due to the heavy shelling. We saw such intense shelling after a very long time,” Ahmad said.
At Karnah in Kupwara district, the residents had to take shelter in underground bunkers to escape the shelling, the officials said.
Some houses and other buildings suffered heavy damage, while few caught fire due to the heavy shelling from across the LoC, they said.
“We spent a terrible long night. It was as if the night would never end. Our hearts sank every time we heard a loud bang of heavy shells. We had to move to safer locations and take shelter to save our lives amid the heavy shelling,” Naseer Ahmad, a local resident, said.
Elsewhere in the Kashmir valley, including in Srinagar, people spent an anxious night after news broke about the missile strikes.
With heightened air activity around Srinagar, many residents were awake through the second half of the night, anxiously monitoring social media and news reports.
Many were worried about Pakistan’s retaliation in the wake of India’s missile strikes.
“I was woken up by the noise as jets were flying around. I checked social media and came to know about the strikes in Pakistan. I was awake the rest of the night, checking social media for information,” Srinagar resident Owais Nisar said.
He also said the whole of Jammu and Kashmir would remain tense and worried for the next few days in the wake of the missile strikes and the heavy shelling on the borders.
PTI
