Residents of the Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir have started returning to their homes after India and Pakistan agreed to extend the ceasefire understanding till 18 May. The shelling, which affected the districts in J&K along the Line of Control, resulted in significant damage to homes and infrastructure as well as the loss of civilian lives.
Salotri village in Poonch was amongst the hardest hit areas during cross-border shelling, resulting in significant damage. The village people thanked the government for the understanding between India and Pakistan.
One of the residents of the village told reporters, “We live here and we saw something like this happening for the first time. The government had provided everything for our safety, but still, we were scared after witnessing the situation between the two countries.
The Indian Army also provided us with all the safety and took care of us. The complete village was left empty after the situation. We are back here in our village as there is peace again.”
With the dust now settled over the 4 days of dangerous escalation between the two countries, the residents of the border villages have urged the government to build bunkers and safe houses for such future escalations.
“Around 400 people stayed here. When the fire started, the people left the village. The administration took care of us, and the SHO heard our problem.
Today, we have returned to our village. But there is one problem here: we don’t have bunkers here. The Pakistan border is near, but here there are no sufficient bunkers. I request that the government build bunkers here. We urge both countries that war is not the solution, as people die in such situations. The people who say that war should take place, but we live here, and it is very difficult for the people who stay in the border areas,” said another resident.
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The Indian Armed Forces responded firmly to the aggression, targeting several military positions across the border.
Later, both countries agreed to stop the firing and military action after Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) contacted his Indian counterpart.
The situation quickly escalated as the Indian armed forces launched Operation Sindoor following the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people on 22 April.
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