As tensions between India and Pakistan escalated during ‘Operation Sindoor’, residents of Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir took to social media to share footage of their homes reduced to rubble by cross-border shelling. In one such video, a Poonch resident shared visuals of the homes, buildings and vehicles destroyed by incessant shelling in the border district.
“I always wanted to share the beauty of Poonch with the world through my videos, but now I am forced to show what happened to our Poonch from May 7 to 11,” Instagram user Mazhair said in a video, standing under the broken roof of a house.
In a short video titled “Never Forget the Sacrifice of Poonch”, Mazhair captured the devastation caused by Pakistan's shelling during ceasefire violations in retaliation to India’s launch of Operation Sindoor.
Take a look at the video here:
"Poonch carried the weight of war so the rest could sleep in peace," he wrote in the caption. Walking around the district, he filmed destroyed homes with collapsed roofs, bullet marks on gates of residential buildings, shattered windows and broken vehicles.
{{/usCountry}}"Poonch carried the weight of war so the rest could sleep in peace," he wrote in the caption. Walking around the district, he filmed destroyed homes with collapsed roofs, bullet marks on gates of residential buildings, shattered windows and broken vehicles.
{{/usCountry}}The Poonch Police has issued an advisory asking residents to avoid approaching suspicious metal objects after receiving reports of unexploded shells in various areas of the district.
Intense shelling was reported from several areas, including Balakote, Mendhar, Mankote, Sagra, Krishna Ghati, Gulpur, Kerni, and the Poonch district headquarters.
At least 12 civilians were killed and 42 others injured after Pakistan resorted to heavy artillery shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch. A senior police officer told HT that those dead include four children, aged between seven and 14 years.
J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday announced an ex gratia of ₹10 lakh each for the families of those who lost their lives in the Pakistani shelling across the Union Territory.