Pakistan has shed the blood of innocents in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch, claiming several lives. Now, Indian security forces are settling the score decisively. Several Pakistani posts across the Line of Control (LoC) have been destroyed.
By Our Correspondent
Thu, 8 May 2025
New Delhi: Pakistan is rattled after India’s Operation Sindoor against terrorists, prompting the enemy nation to repeatedly target civilians. On Wednesday, the Pakistani army carried out heavy shelling and fired mortar rounds at villages near the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir, killing at least 15 people, including four children and a soldier, and injuring 57 others. Poonch was specifically targeted with shelling. The Indian Army is delivering a befitting response. The Pakistani military has admitted that 31 of its personnel have been killed in India’s actions so far.
Pakistan’s military spokesperson, Lieutenant General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhary, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), claimed in a press conference that 31 people were killed and over 60 injured in Indian Army attacks. The Pakistani officer alleged that India violated its sovereignty by using standoff weapons from its airspace. However, India has clarified that it exercised its right to self-defense by eliminating terrorists.
An Indian Army defense spokesperson stated that on the night of May 7-8, the Pakistani army fired artillery across the LoC and international border in Jammu and Kashmir. Indian forces responded robustly, destroying several enemy posts and inflicting heavy losses, resulting in multiple casualties. Pakistani forces targeted villages near the LoC with heavy shelling and mortars, following Indian missile strikes on nine terrorist hideouts in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). This was among the heaviest shelling by Pakistan in recent years.
Pakistan’s indiscriminate shelling forced hundreds of residents to seek shelter in underground bunkers or flee to safer areas, as houses, vehicles, and even a gurdwara were destroyed. Poonch, Rajouri, and northern Kashmir’s Baramulla and Kupwara districts were the worst affected, with fear gripping border residents.
Pakistan Targets Villages Near LoC
Earlier on Wednesday, Pakistani forces shelled villages near the LoC, following India’s missile strikes. The heavy shelling, the worst since the February 25, 2021, ceasefire renewal, killed 13 people in Poonch, with 42 injured, two critically. Shelling was reported in Balakot, Mendhar, Mankot, Krishna Ghati, Gulpur, Kerni, and even Poonch district headquarters, damaging dozens of homes and vehicles. A gurdwara and nearby houses in Poonch town were hit by artillery, killing three Sikhs, prompting condemnation from Punjab’s political parties.
The shelling, intense until noon and intermittent thereafter, was largely confined to Poonch. Locals faced significant challenges in transporting victims to hospitals. Poonch bus stand and several buses were damaged. In Baramulla’s Uri sector, 10 people, including five children, were injured, with three others wounded in Rajouri. In Kupwara’s Karnah sector, shelling set several homes ablaze. The deceased were identified as Balwinder Kaur alias “Ruby” (33), Mohammad Zain Khan (10), Zoya Khan (12), Mohammad Akram (40), Amrik Singh (55), Mohammad Iqbal (45), Ranjit Singh (48), Shakila Bi (40), Amarjeet Singh (47), Maryam Khatoon (7), Vihan Bhargav (13), Mohammad Rafi (40), and an Army Lance Naik.
This was the 13th consecutive night of unprovoked firing along the Jammu and Kashmir border amid heightened tensions following the Pahalgam attack.