J-K: Pakistan shelling damages homes, shrines in JK’s Kupwara, Poonch

KUPWARA(Jammu and Kashmir): Amid heightened India-Pakistan tensions, heavy cross-border shelling by Pakistan caused damage to homes and religious sites in J&K’s Kupwara, Uri, and Poonch. Locals vowed to stand with the Indian Army despite the attacks.

Houses and properties in Uri have also been severely damaged in the shelling, which targeted civilian areas.

In Poonch, houses and water tanks in civilian areas suffered extensive damage.

Balbir Singh, a resident in Poonch, said, “The entire house is damaged. The adjacent houses have also suffered damage…Pakistan is targeting civilian areas…They are deliberately targeting Poonch…Gurdwara, temples and mosques – they have not spared anything…This is all the nefarious design of Pakistan that it is targeting civilians…People are scared but they have the spirit that they will continue to live here and stand with the Indian Army.”

“We were uprooted in 1947 and then came to live here. A massive firing is ongoing now. We will not leave Poonch and go anywhere else. We will stand shoulder to shoulder with the Army and Administration. They may bomb us as much as they want, we will not be scared,” he told.

State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), local police, and administration officials have cordoned off the area near Aap Shambhu Temple in Jammu, where a Pakistani strike occurred. SDRF personnel confirmed that no casualties have been reported.

A resident near the Aap Shambhu Temple said,”It is the main gate of Shambhu temple where people come to offer prayers early in the morning, but the siren was activated, and hence fewer people were here. Pakistan will face a fitting reply…”

Meanwhile, Jammu Police and other agencies are working to retrieve projectile fragments from the site. Projectiles were recovered in Jammu’s Bishnah and Lasjan areas, while splinters and debris were also found in Akhnoor, though no major structural damage was reported.

Four airbases in Pakistan were hit by Indian strikes in the early hours of today, sources told ANI as tensions between the two countries continue to escalate.

India launched the retaliatory strikes immediately after Pakistan attacked 26 locations across India, the sources said. Intermittent firing is still going on at several places along the Line of Control (LoC). (ANI)