India-Pakistan Ceasefire: Ground Reports From Kashmir’s Border Towns

Ranjeet Singh died just outside the gate of his home in Poonch on May 7. He was helping neighbours flee as mortar shells rained down from across the Line of Control (LoC). Balbir Singh, 51, watched smoke curl over the street. When he stepped outside, he found his brother lying in a pool of blood. “It was like a stream of blood was flowing. My brother died instantly after he was hit by shrapnel from a mortar,” Balbir says quietly. For years, they ran the family cosmetics shop, attached to the house.

For nearly ten days since May 7, their modest home has been a steady stop for mourners; friends, neighbours and strangers coming to say goodbye to Ranjeet.

On May 8, the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that across Jammu and Kashmir, at least 16 people had died while over 59 others were injured in the shelling from the other side of the border and the LoC by Pakistani troops. While a semblance of normalcy has returned to the areas close to the LoC, residents remain fearful that the guns and mortars could blaze again, snatching their loved ones.

Barely two days after Ranjeet Singh died, a barrage of mortars landed in the Chowkibal area of North Kashmir’s Kupwara. Twenty-nine-year-old Ishfaq Ahmad Khan fled the area with his family soon after the shelling started. Late that night, they travelled to Srinagar as mortar shells continued to pound several areas. The next day, his phone started ringing; one of his neighbours told him that the mortar shells fired by Pakistani troops from across the LoC had damaged his house, causing the roof to collapse. The walls of the house have been extensively damaged, while a few windows have also splintered.

Six days after the shelling in the area, the women in the household were clearing up the debris while a vehicle packed with luggage, including some bedding, stood in readiness in the wide driveway. The family fears they may have to flee again if shelling continues from across the LoC.

“It is chaotic here. There is so much fear that markets shut down based on mere rumours of possible shelling by Pakistani troops. We have kept the household goods in the vehicle (outside the home) as we don’t know when we may have to flee again,” says Khan. When Khan and his family fled to Srinagar, they had a harrowing time as drones hovered over the Srinagar International Airport and missiles targeted several military installations across the Union Territory. The mortar shelling and missile strikes caused extensive damage to many homes and commercial establishments in the area.

“I would never have invested here. Shells have never landed in our area, which is 70 kilometres from the LoC. We thought it was peaceful here. We went to Srinagar and stayed with a relative near the airport. We didn’t feel safe there either because of the drone and missile strikes,” says Khan.

In Poonch, shells landed in residential areas and even in the compound of an Islamic seminary, damaging several houses. The town was emptied of most of its people. Although many have returned home after India and Pakistan declared a ceasefire on May 10, shops still shut early in the evening.

Following the death of a teacher at the Islamic seminary and injuries to two children during the shelling, most students have not returned to school. Meanwhile, mourning continues in several households that lost loved ones.

“People from across the country, cutting across religious lines, have come here to express solidarity with us, but what we need is a lasting peace here so that no more lives are lost,” says Balbir. 

In Kashmir’s LoC areas, scenes were no different. Houses were completely burnt in the North Kashmir town of Uri, while in Chowkibal, markets shut early and people left for home soon after. Due to the skirmishes between India and Pakistan, security restrictions have increased manifold in the LoC areas. In other parts of Kashmir, people are witnessing gunfights and cordon and search operations (CASOs) in congested neighbourhoods.

Barely 48 hours after three militants were killed in a gunfight with security forces in the Shopian area of South Kashmir on Tuesday, security forces launched another encounter in the Tral area. Residents saw a heavy presence of security personnel involved in the cordon and search operations as gunshots rang out through otherwise peaceful places.

While three militants were killed in an encounter deep inside Shopian’s Shukhroo area on Tuesday, where residents saw large numbers of troops rushing in, people in Tral’s Nader area, several miles away, woke to the sound of gunfire even before morning prayers.

The gun battle in Tral took place close to another neighbourhood where the houses of two militants were demolished after the April 22 attack in Pahalgam that left 26 people, most of them tourists, dead. Tensions soared as India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ to target militant camps across the LoC, which was met with retaliatory drone and missile attacks on military installations by Pakistan. Pakistan, however, denied any involvement in the Pahalgam attack.

Nearly a month after the attack on tourists, restrictions on civilian movement imposed by security forces in border areas have grown stronger, with entry to several tourist sites prohibited. The ongoing restrictions have also affected cattle grazing by shepherds near these tourism hotspots.

“Scores of people depend on cattle grazing for their livelihood. Their exclusion from these areas threatens their only source of income, pushing them deeper into poverty,” according to the President of the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Front (PDF) and former minister, Hakeem Muhammad Yaseen.

In Kupwara, entry to several areas has been barred. Local Kashmiris who need to visit places closer to the LoC, including Tangdhar and the tourist spot of Bangus Valley, are stopped at the Chowkibal entry point. Residents must comply with several formalities, including getting a form signed by the Kralpora police station and submitting photocopies of their Aadhar cards to move to areas along the LoC. Yet, despite these clearances, security forces often bar public movement.

In view of the restrictions, the tourism business, which was booming, has been particularly affected in the border areas. Due to the absence of tourists, Mumtaz Ahmad Mir has reduced the staff at his restaurant from 12 to four employees. The restaurant remains empty and he does not foresee any immediate possibility of a business revival.

“I told one of my cooks to stay at home and reduced the staff, as there was no business. Before the border shelling, the area was full of tourists and every day we would see at least 100 people come here,” says Mir. “Now the security forces are not allowing people to go to tourist spots like Bungus Valley and areas like Budnamal, Teetwal and Drangyari,” he adds.

“We closed the shops early after someone spread word in the market that there would be shelling from across the LoC,” says Ghulam Mohidin Mir, 69, a shopkeeper, seated outside his footwear store in Chowkibal, talking about the impact of the border skirmishes on their lives.

Yasir Javed, who runs a travel agency in Kupwara, rues the loss of business. “The tourism business is overall heavily impacted in Kashmir. We were doing well here. Apart from normal leisure tourism, we were promoting Kupwara as an offbeat tourist destination. We were doing good business, but it has been completely affected,” he says. Javed now wonders whether he should relocate his business to Himachal Pradesh or the Andaman Islands.

The impact of the shelling has been felt more in the Tangdhar and Uri areas, where several houses have been damaged by mortar fire. Shells have also landed close to security installations in the area.

After their house was damaged, Ishfaq’s father, Maqbool Khan, has been staying with a friend, while some family members who work on clearing rubble during the day stay with relatives at night. “We were talking about the area being developed as a border tourism venue, but now what we see is devastation all around,” says Maqbool.

Rayees Ahmad, 45, a resident of Tangdhar, says the damage in his area was massive, with several houses reduced to rubble and vehicles burnt due to shelling. “Our children are so fearful. They are scared to even venture outside their homes,” he says.

Amid the tenuous calm, residents living along the LoC and politicians hope that the ceasefire announced by India and Pakistan lasts and that peace along the borders is durable.

After assessing the damage caused to public property in Uri due to the shelling, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said: “Thankfully, the ceasefire is currently holding, and we are working diligently to assess damages and extend help wherever needed.”

Former Chief Minister and PDP President Mehbooba Mufti calls US President Donald Trump’s intervention a welcome step that led to an immediate ceasefire between India and Pakistan. “I hope both countries will work towards an everlasting peace for this region. The ceasefire between India and Pakistan is not just an agreement or a one-time event; it’s a fragile hope, a step toward healing wounds that have festered for generations,” she says.

Former MLA Karnah, Raja Manzoor Ahmad, while welcoming the ceasefire, says, “I am deeply thankful to both nations—India and Pakistan—for honouring the ceasefire agreement, which has brought much-needed relief to the people living along the LoC.”

Near the LoC, many built bunkers, yet residents say they offered little shelter during the fierce shelling. Only the larger, more secluded bunkers provided a fleeting refuge.

“We went underground and stayed in bunkers, but when the shelling intensified and our house began to shake from shells landing nearby, we fled,” says Rafiqa Begum, a resident of Chowkibal. The shells fell with such ferocity that she feared the house would collapse and bury her family under the rubble.

Farooq Ahmad fled from his home as shells landed nearby, moving to a safer area in Kupwara. Locals urged the government to build large community bunkers to protect lives and reduce damage along the LoC.

“The government should provide compensation to those who lost their homes and ensure the construction of individual bunkers for all LoC residents, so they may live with safety and dignity,” says Ahmad.

For now, the Chief Minister has sought support from the Cen­tre to construct more bunkers in all shelling-affected regions.

Maqbool says several parts of Kupwara lack community bunkers and the government provided only paltry compensation to those whose houses were damaged. “We received just Rs 10,000 compensation even though the damage ran into several lakhs,” he points out. In Poonch, residents also say the absence of bunkers left families vulnerable and urge authorities to build more bunkers to prevent loss of life. Amid shell-shattered homes and fragile ceasefires, the battered region’s people cling to hope. Their call for safety and peace is urgent. Until lasting calm returns, life for the local residents here remains a tense waiting game along the LoC.

Ishfaq Naseem is senior special correspondent, 해외카지노. He is based in Srinagar

This article is part of 해외카지노’s 1 June 2025 issue, 'Gated Neighbourhood', which examines the state of diplomacy, media, and democracy in the wake of the ceasefire. It appeared in print as 'Cracked Open.'