Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met Union Secretary Govind Mohan to discuss the shifting of civilians living near the border to safer places as Pakistan continued unprovoked firing along the Line of Control (LoC). The meeting was held at PM Modi's residence, minutes after National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval briefed the Prime Minister on current developments at the border areas.
At least 13 civilians died and over 50 were injured in Pakistan's arbitrary retaliatory firing and artillery shelling to India's Operation Sindoor, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. Out of those injured, 44 people are residents of the Poonch sector, it said.
In one of the border villages in the Uri sector, the aftermath of the artillery fire from across the border painted a grim picture as two civilian homes were destroyed, with four people injured in the incident. In one of the houses, the roof had entirely collapsed, and the outer wall had crumbled.
Eyewitnesses told NDTV that the shelling began around 2 am on Wednesday and continued intermittently until close to midday. Villagers also reported hearing the loud blasts of artillery and small firearms. While some fled to nearby areas like Baramullah, others remained inside their homes in fear.
"There was not one shell but multiple. There was deafening noise. There's a lot of fear, but where will we go? Where will the poor go? We don't have anything," a villager living near the border told NDTV.
Pakistan has been continuously firing unprovoked across the LoC since India suspended the Indus Water Treaty after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people died. In a move to avenge the deadly attack, India, under its Operation Sindoor, targeted nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir. Among the camps destroyed was one that trained David Headley and Ajmal Kasab, the terrorists behind the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Others included launchpads for attacks on civilians in Jammu and Kashmir in 2023 and 2024.
