SURANKOTE: In a sharp escalation after Operation Sindoor on May 7, Pakistani shelling reached Surankote, 40–45 km from the LoC, for the first time, shattering its long-held immunity and leaving no zone untouched in the intensified cross-border assault.
On the night of May 8, a 12-year-old girl Humaira Chouhan and her twin sister Ifzah Chouhan were sleeping in the bedroom of their house in Mandirgali area of Surankote, which had remained peaceful during the past cross border shelling.
The village being about 45 kms from LoC and had not been in the range of Pakistani troops shelling during past incidents of cross-border shelling whether it be 1965 war, 1971 war or the 1998 Kargil war.
Around midnight, multiple explosions rocked Surankote as Pakistani shells rained down, with one landing near the house of sleeping twin sisters. The blast damaged their bedroom, shattering windows and glass panes, and reducing bedding and belongings to debris.
“We recovered Humaira from the debris of the room while her twin sister had gone to the washroom a few moments before the blast took place,” said Humaira’s father, Mohammad Liyaqat.
The girl was bleeding as she had suffered multiple splinter injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors treated her.
She sustained splinter injuries in chest, arm, back and other parts of the body.
“Some of the splinters have been removed while others are still in the body and doctors have told me to again visit the hospital after 15 days,” said Humaira.
She has been advised to complete bed rest, and for Humaira, the immediate setback is a disruption to her studies.
Liyaqat, said at least 8-9 shells fell in the area and the adjoining area on the night, damaging at least three houses, including his.
Liyaqat’s house has been rendered unsafe for living by the shelling and he has appealed to the administration to provide him compensation for rebuilding the house.
“I have spent my whole life earning a construction house and can’t rebuild it on my own. I need strong support from the government,” said Liyaqat, a shopkeeper and a father of four.
According to Liyaqat, Surankote was considered a safe zone from Pakistani shelling.
“Whenever shelling used to take place in the past, people living close to the border used to come here and stay here. But this time, no safe zones existed as the shells landed here as well as in Poonch town,” he said.
Due to the shelling, people of the area moved to safer places in the villages and Jammu to escape the Pakistani troops' shelling.
Arif Hussain, who helped Liyaqat shift her injured daughter to the hospital, said that in the hospital, there was a war-like situation.
“The doctors had shifted the patients admitted in the hospital under the beds and doctors, paramedics and attendants were very apprehensive as it was the first time that shells had landed in Surankote,” he said.
After the shelling hit the myth of Surankote as a 'safe zone', there was panic all around with people fleeing from the area, and markets remained closed for about a week.
Vipin Kumar, a cloth merchant in Surankote market said they left for Jammu immediately after the shelling and returned back only a few days back.
“I am 60 years old and I have never seen shelling in Surankote. This was the first time. Even during the Indo-Pak wars, Surankote had remained unaffected and peaceful,” he said.
Vipin said in this cross-border shelling, there remained no safe zones on the ground where people can take shelter in future in case of outbreak of hostilities again.
“Our area was considered a safe zone. It no longer is. Rajouri and Poonch towns were considered safe zones, it is no longer such. Many more areas in Poonch and Rajouri district have witnessed the shelling for the first time, and we hope this was the first and last time,” he added.
