POONCH: A sense of both despair and hope is palpable in the border districts of Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir, which were worst hit by the Pakistani mortar and artillery shelling after Operation Sindoor, as life is slowly returning to normal.
The markets in Poonch and Rajouri towns, which remained closed till Sunday after four days of Pakistani shelling, are open now. The shopkeepers and their workforce have returned after the pause in India-Pakistan conflict.
An eerie calm prevails with no sirens and explosions. The buzz is missing in the markets even as normal activities have resumed. Businessmen and the common people are still shell-shocked.
“For the first time Poonch town witnessed shelling from Pakistani troops. During the earlier India-Pakistan wars, be it 1965, 1975 or 1998 Kargil war, Poonch town had remained unaffected,” said 60-year-old Javed Ahmad, a shopkeeper.
“Poonch town was covered on all sides by Pakistani troops and they resorted to unprecedented shelling. I think 200-300 artillery shells might have landed in the town in two days. Fear-stricken residents left for Jammu and other places to save themselves and their families,” he said.
Javed said people have returned after the truce and normalcy is also in the air but “we don’t have full confidence in the ceasefire. There is fear and we are scared that anything can happen anytime.”
Amrish Kour, a resident of Poonch, said the four days of shelling were “hell of a life”. “There is fear in our minds. Whenever we hear any explosion, we run away to safety,” she said.
Kour said although peace has returned with the ceasefire “but none can guarantee its longevity. Poonch town witnessed heavy shelling and we are now fearful of returning to such a situation any time.”
In Dongas, Mehtab-ud-Din Sheikh, whose house was damaged after two shells hit it, said, “We have seen such heavy shelling for the first time and the sound of explosions still rang in my ears.” Mehtab was trying to salvage whatever he could from the shell-hit house.
“All our life savings were spent in construction of this house and everything has gone now. I don’t know what will happen to me and my family. As of now I am living at my brother-in-law’s home but how long I will stay here? I am staring at a dark future,” he said.
Twins Urba Fatima and Zain Ali, 12, who were Mehtab’s neighbours, were killed after a third shell hit them while they were leaving the place. Their father was seriously injured.
“Poonch town used to be safe during cross-border shelling and people from bordering villages used to come here to take refuge. But this time people from the city had to run away to villages,” said Avinash Kumar.
In Poonch district, 13 civilians were killed in the Pakistani shelling and many houses and structures damaged. “We opened our eatery shop on Wednesday. Our families were hesitant in allowing us to return but for the livelihood of our families and for our workers, we returned and opened the shop,” said Shakeel Ahmed, owner of the eatery. He said business has declined considerably and people are apprehensive.
The situation is no different in Rajouri, where also shells for the first time landed in the city. At least three people, including an ADDC and a migrant worker and his two-year-old niece, were killed in Pakistani shelling and scores of houses damaged.
Local resident Parvez Ahmed, whose house was damaged, said people remain connected with each other through phones. “We call each other to ascertain whether everything is OK. There is an uneasy calm with tension and fear visible in the faces of people. We don’t want to see it again. We pray for the longevity of ceasefire and lasting peace,” he said.
Parvez said nobody has more stakes in peace than the border residents. “Every time hostilities between India and Pakistan start, border residents are the first victims. We lose our lives and homes to shelling and then we have to leave our homes,” he said. Like other businesses, hotels have also opened in Rajouri but there are no customers. “We have dropped the rates of rooms but there is nobody around to hire them. Everybody is worried about the future. There is no guarantee that shelling cannot break out again,” said Raju, a hotelier.
