SHOPIAN (Kashmir): At the crowded bus stand in Shopian, a tempo came to a slow halt. The vehicle, dusty due to long ride via Mughal Road, carried with it more than a dozen passengers, and stories of disruption and uncertainties.
A weary-looking young man stepped out, struggling to unload their luggage from the van, while two visibly stressed young women stood nearby, busy on their phones, speaking to someone. "Yes, we have reached Shopian, we will update you soon about where we are heading next," one of them said.
After Pakistan launched operation Bunyan-ul-Marsoos, many villagers from Poonch and Rajouri have been fleeing their native homes in search of safer locations.
"We are not safe there. We left our property behind to save our lives," says Ghulam Jeelani, a resident of Poonch. "For the past two days, we haven't slept due to heavy shelling. Many civilian houses have been damaged. How are we supposed to survive in such a situation?" Jeelani asked, his voice trembling.
Rahul Kumar, in his forties, a resident of the main town in Rajouri, fled with his ailing parents to Reasi.
"My parents' health has been deteriorating due to fear and constant stress. Since May 7, we have been living in a state of trauma," he says in an emotional tone. "They both suffer from heart ailments, and the fear and uncertainty have only worsened their condition. We had no choice but to leave."
On the night of May 7, Rajouri town was targeted by Pakistani shelling and drone attacks, resulting in the destruction of several civilian structures. Casualties were also reported; a senior Jammu and Kashmir official was one among five civilians killed early Saturday in Rajouri amid intense artillery fire from Pakistan, as Indian forces claimed that they have retaliated to a series of overnight air attacks.
Mohammad Tazeem, a resident of Rajouri town who recently arrived in Shopian, shared his story. "I had already sent my children ahead due to the worsening situation. Now I have locked up my home, and my wife and I have come here to stay with relatives until things de-escalate."
A journalist from Rajouri, who fled his home to a safer place in Jammu province, recounted that nearly 20,000 people have left the main town, while villages like Mankot, Irwan, Kana Kote, and Khanetar were already deserted.
"In those villages, only a single male from each household has stayed back temporarily—just to feed the livestock. After that, even they plan to lock up and flee to safer places."
In addition to local residents, students studying in Rajouri and Poonch are also fleeing the region, many of them traveling via Mughal Road to reach Shopian.
Saqib Ahmad, a native of Kulgam and an intern at Government Medical College, Rajouri, arrived in Shopian at 2.00 PM. "We left early in the morning because the situation there is grim. I am in my fourth year, but I have never felt as scared as I did yesterday," Saqib recalled, visibly exhausted. "All night, I prayed for dawn so I could leave. There were eight of us students in the vehicle, and every single one of us was terrified."
Rajouri and Poonch have witnessed some of the highest casualties, alongside Uri and Karnah during the past few days of India-Pakistan hostilities.
The India-Pakistan ceasefire announcement by Donald Trump, President of the United States of America on Saturday, offers a pause in hostilities and shelling and a glimmer of hope for those who had to flee.
However, beyond the diplomatic gestures, true test lies ahead – addressing the humanitarian fallout, compensating the displaced, and rebuilding the lives shattered by conflict, the displaced people say.
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