NEW DELHI: Fifteen innocent civilians have been killed and 43 injured in artillery firing by the Pakistan Army since last night which has hit civilian areas in Poonch and Tangdhar, defence sources said on Wednesday.
Pakistan Army has targeted civilian areas in the border areas. The shelling caused panic among villagers and damaged several houses. The official briefing on Operation Sindoor did not say anything about the loss of life and property in the Indian part of Kashmir in the retaliatory artillery firing from Pakistan in the border villages close to the Line of Control.
Among those killed were Balvinder Kour alias "Ruby" (33), Mohd Zain Khan (10), Zoya Khan (12), Mohd Akram (40), Amrik Singh (55), Mohd Iqbal (45), Ranjeet Singh (48), Shakeela Bi (40), Amarjeet Singh (47), Maryam Khatoon (7), Vihaan Bhargav (13), Mohd Rafi (40), and three others yet to be formally identified by the authorities.
The shelling damaged homes, vehicles, and public infrastructure across Balakote, Mendhar, Mankote, Krishna Ghati, Gulpur, Kerni, and parts of the Poonch district headquarters. Mortar shells hit the bus stand in Mendhar.
Additional injuries were reported in Kupwara and Baramulla districts (10, including five children) and Rajouri (three civilians). Houses caught fire in Karnah sector due to the intensity of shelling. Some videos were circulated on the social media about the damage caused to the houses of border residents. Their veracity could not be confirmed independently.
After Indian strikes, the Pakistan Army continued its series of ceasefire violations by targeting civilian areas in the border areas of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday. Officials said the shelling caused panic among villagers and damaged several houses.
Shelling by Pakistan damaged civilian infrastructure, shattered windowpanes and cracked walls.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also held an emergency meeting with officials over the current situation in border areas. He also sanctioned a special fund for some districts of J&K for providing immediate relief to the people affected by Pakistani artillery shelling since last night.
Rajnath Singh on Military Strikes
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Wednesday, “the Indian Armed Forces displayed their valour and bravery in ‘Operation Sindoor’, scripting a new history, and acted against terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and POJK with precision, alertness and sensitivity."
Speaking at an event for the inauguration of 50 Border Roads Organisation infrastructure projects across six states and two UTs, Rajnath Singh said that the armed forces showed sensitivity in ensuring that the civilian population is not affected during their action.
Cong President, Rahul laud Action
Taking to X, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday (May 7, 2025) applauded the armed forces for acting against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir and expressed solidarity with the government.
Taking to X, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday (May 7, 2025) applauded the armed forces for acting against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir and expressed solidarity with the government
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi posted on X, “Proud of our Armed Forces. Jai Hind!” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “India’s commitment to eliminating all sources of terrorism in Pakistan and PoK has necessarily to be uncompromising and always be anchored in the supreme national interest.”
“This is a time for unity and solidarity. The INC is standing firmly with our armed force,” he said.
SAD condemns Pak shelling in Poonch
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Sukhbir Singh Badal has strongly condemned the attack by Pakistani forces on the sacred Central Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha Sahib in Poonch.
In a social media post on X, condemning the attack, Badal stated that three Sikhs have lost their lives.
As per Badal's office, the deceased have been identified as Amrik Singh Ji (a raagi Singh), Bhai Amarjeet Singh and Ranjit Singh.
The SAD leader expressed solidarity with the bereaved families and demanded an adequate compensation to support them in their time of grief.
"We demand that the martyrs be honored for their sacrifice and that the bereaved families receive adequate compensation to support them in their time of grief," Badal said in a post on X.
Punjab CM condemns Pak shelling
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also condemned the incident stating that targeting the common people is completely wrong. He also expressed his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families.
Official briefing on ‘Operation Sindoor’
Earlier in the day, at a joint briefing on India’s military operation, Foreign Secretay Vikram Misri said that nine terrorist camps were targeted with precision strikes. He said this was in response to the terror attack in Pahalgam marked with extreme barbarity.
"The family members were deliberately traumatised through the manner of killing, accompanied by the exhortation that they should take back the message. The attack was clearly driven by the objective of undermining normalcy returning to Kashmir," he said.
Misri said that Indian intelligence agencies had been monitoring terrorist activities and raised concerns regarding more terrorist attacks in India.
"Our intelligence indicated that further attacks against India are impending. Thus, compulsion, both to deter and prevent and hence earlier this morning, India exercised its right to respond to deter such more cross-border terrorism... Our actions were measured and non-escalatory, proportionate and responsible. They focused on dismantling terrorists' infrastructure," he said.
Wing Commander Vyomika Singh informed that a total of nine terror sites were targeted and successfully destroyed. She asserted that the locations were selected so that there was no damage to civilians and their infrastructures.
"Operation Sindoor was launched by the Indian Armed Forces to deliver justice to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and their families. Nine terrorist camps were targeted and successfully destroyed... The locations were so selected to avoid damage to civilian infrastructures and loss of any civilian lives, she said.
Col Sofiya Qureshi showed some videos of the strikes destroying terror camps.
Schools closed, exams postponed
In response, Divisional Commissioner of Jammu, Ramesh Kumar, announced: “In view of the prevailing situation, all schools, colleges and educational institutions in Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Rajouri and Poonch will remain closed today.”
Kashmir University postponed all examinations scheduled for the day.
Shelling was reported from Mankote, Krishna Ghati, and Shahpur in Poonch, Laam and Manjakote in Rajouri, and Karnah and Uri sectors in north Kashmir. An explosion also occurred in Panthiyal, Ramban district, though its cause remains unknown.
Ceasefire violations along the LoC and IB had been rare since India and Pakistan reaffirmed their 2003 ceasefire agreement on February 25, 2021. That calm appears to have collapsed.
Initially confined to north Kashmir’s Kupwara and Baramulla districts, the shelling has now spread across the LoC—from Poonch to Akhnoor, Sunderbani, Naushera, and Pargwal sector in Jammu.
Over 300 Flights Cancelled
More than 300 flights have been cancelled and at least 25 airports, including Srinagar, have been temporarily shut for operations amid restrictions in the wake of the armed forces launching missile attacks on terror targets in Pakistan on Wednesday morning.
Air India, IndiGo, SpiceJet, Air India Express, Akasa Air, and a few foreign airlines have cancelled their services to and from various airports.
At least 25 airports in the northern and western parts of the country have been temporarily shut. These airports include Srinagar, Leh, Jammu, Amritsar, Pathankot, Chandigarh, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Shimla, Dharamshala and Jamnagar.
The airline operators have put on hold all flights to these airports till May 10 morning, according to the information posted on their social media handles.
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