POONCH: Twins Urba Fatima and Zain Ali, both aged 12, from Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir, were born together and died together on the morning of May 7, after a shell fired by Pakistani troops struck them while the family of four was trying to escape the shelling and move to safer ground.
The twins, who had shared every moment of their short lives, now lie buried side by side in the graveyard.
The family of four, Urba, Zain, their father Rameez Ahmad Khan, and their mother Ursha Khan, had been living in a rented accommodation in the Dongas area of Poonch town.
When the shelling began on the night of May 7, fear gripped the family, especially the children, who were terrified after hearing the loud explosions and blasts for the first time in their lives.
“The twins’ father called one of his relatives (brother-in-law) to pick them up from the area and move them to safer locations,” said one of their uncles, Altaf Ahmed.
Their uncle reached the area at around 6.30 am while the shelling was still ongoing.
“He called the family and told them that he was waiting outside. As the family of four left the main gate of their house and took a few steps towards the road, at least three shells landed in the area. Two of the shells hit my house, damaging it, and another hit a nearby house,” said their neighbour, Mehtab Din Sheikh.
He said that while his family escaped with injuries as they had shifted to the ground floor after the shelling began, their neighbours were caught in the open.
The twins Urba and Zain, along with their father Rameez, sustained critical injuries.
Altaf said the uncle who had come to pick them up rushed to the scene and, with the help of locals, shifted the injured children and their father to a nearby hospital in his vehicle.
He said the children died within minutes of each other.
“Their father, who works in the Education Department, sustained critical injuries and is admitted in Government Medical College Hospital, Jammu,” Altaf said.
While Rameez was undergoing treatment in the hospital, Urba and Zain were buried side by side in their ancestral graveyard in the Mandi area of Poonch.
The twins were studying in Class 4 at Christ School, Poonch.
They were born together, lived a brief life together, took their last walk together, died together, and now lay buried side by side.
“Their tragic death has shattered the entire family,” said Altaf.
He said the children’s mother is devastated, as she is not only in mourning but also attending to her critically injured husband, who is still undergoing treatment.
Altaf said the twins’ father Rameez, while recovering in hospital, was looking for his children.
“He knew that they were injured and also undergoing treatment in the hospital. It was only on Saturday (May 17) that we told him that both Urba and Zain had succumbed to their injuries and had been buried,” he said.
“Rameez broke down inconsolably, and his cries echoed through the ward. It was a very painful moment for all of us. It took a lot of effort from family members to console him. He is now under close observation of the doctors,” the twins’ uncle said.