‘Everything I built is in ruins’: As children cry and villages burn, Kashmir trapped between two warring nations

A wave of destruction swept through villages in Indian-administered Kashmir this week as renewed cross-border shelling between India and Pakistan pushed the fragile ceasefire to the brink of collapse.

In the Poonch district, close to the Line of Control (LoC), residents described scenes of chaos and grief following what many say was the heaviest bombardment in decades.

Videos shared by locals showed shattered homes, twisted metal, and bloodstained courtyards. One haunting clip captured the voice of a woman lamenting, “Everything I built is in ruins.”

Since the early hours of May 7, at least 11 civilians in Poonch have lost their lives following Pakistani artillery fire into Indian-administered Kashmir.

The attacks are said to be in retaliation for Indian airstrikes that hit multiple locations in Pakistan’s Punjab province and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Those Indian strikes, according to New Delhi, were a response to a brutal assault on April 22 in the Pahalgam tourist town, where 26 Indian tourists were killed in what officials described as a militant attack.

The tit-for-tat strikes have brought the two nuclear-armed neighbors to the brink of another potential military confrontation.

Local people and experts say the most recent shelling is among the worst seen in the Kashmir region in over four decades. “This was a night of terror,” said Rameez Choudhary, a resident of Poonch.

Among the victims were two young siblings killed when a shell hit their home, a seven-year-old child, a teenage boy, a homemaker in her mid-thirties, two shopkeepers, and several other men.

The villages of Shahpur, Mankote, and Krishna Ghati in Poonch district bore the worst of the bombardment, while Rajouri district’s Laam, Manjakote, and Gambhir Brahmana areas were also hit hard. Residents scrambled to evacuate under the shadow of more incoming fire.

In the early hours of May 7, Indian jets launched missiles deep into Pakistan, targeting what officials described as “terror bases.”

Pakistan refuted these claims, saying the attacks killed 31 civilians and that none of the sites were militant camps. Meanwhile, India has blamed Islamabad for supporting the group behind the Pahalgam attack, which Pakistan denies.

India charges Pakistan with supporting the armed group that attacked Indian tourists. Pakistan, however, has denied the accusation.

India claims its missiles hit “terror base camps,” but Pakistan says the strikes killed 31 people, all of whom were “innocent civilians.”

Observers highlight that the current escalation is broader in scale than even the 1999 Kargil conflict, which was primarily restricted to the high-altitude battlegrounds of northern Kashmir.

“This war has been forced upon us. The [Pahalgam] attack was aimed at provoking a situation in which we have no option but to strike back,” said Tara Kartha, director of the Centre for Land Warfare Studies and former Indian National Security Council official.

While both sides also came perilously close to war in 2019 after the Pulwama suicide bombing, which killed 40 Indian paramilitary troops, Kartha argues the current situation is more volatile.

“Both sides carefully managed 2019. Everything was kept confined to a certain limit. But this time, it has been brutal,” she said. Pakistan’s leadership, however, has accused India of intentionally escalating the crisis.

Kashmiris once again find themselves caught in the crossfire. “Initially, we thought it was thunder. The skies rumbled at 1am,” said Altaf Amin, a 22-year-old from Chandak village.

Just 10 kilometers from the Line of Control (LoC), Chandak was one of several locations pounded by shelling that night.

“The shelling has continued on and off since yesterday. But now, it has stopped,” he said.

Images and video clips rapidly circulated online, depicting scenes of chaos and loss. One verified video showed a teenage boy with a shredded arm being carried into a van.

Another section showed the lifeless body of a child with severe injuries to the head. The reaction on the ground was one of sorrow and defiance. “We don’t want war,” Amin said firmly.

Yet frustration with the authorities is also growing. “People in Poonch are angry because there was no attempt to get them evacuated,” said Zafar Choudhary, a political commentator based in Jammu.

He added that the government should have anticipated retaliatory strikes and taken steps to protect residents. “There’s a feeling that whenever the trouble between the two warring nations has erupted in the past, it is the people of these hill regions who have borne its brunt.”

The LoC, which snakes 740 kilometers through the rugged terrain of Kashmir, was drawn in 1949 following the first war between India and Pakistan after independence.

Though intended as a temporary ceasefire line pending a referendum—which never occurred—it became a de facto border.

After further wars in 1965 and 1971, and an extended insurgency beginning in the late 1980s, a formal ceasefire was reached in 2003. It was renewed again in 2021, but the latest violence has effectively undone that fragile agreement.

“We are familiar with cross-border shelling. But this shelling is unprecedented,” said Amin.

In the aftermath, residents have started constructing makeshift bunkers and converting local schools into emergency relief centers stocked with food and basic supplies.

Some 260 kilometers away, Salamabad in Baramulla district has also been rocked by relentless attacks. Mushtaq Ahmad, a cab driver from the village, described a terrifying night.

“Last night, the shelling was so intense that two houses were burned down and many people were wounded in the fire from across the border,” he said. Ahmad has since fled with his family to nearby Uri town.

Salamabad, nestled beneath a steep pine-covered massif near the border, has been left in ruins. Blast waves tore off roofs, and fires engulfed homes.

“We fear the worst,” Ahmad said, noting that his young daughters, aged 9 and 11, were traumatized.

“They are asking why it happened. Would we be killed?” Two children in the village, a 13-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy, were injured in the shelling.

For 80-year-old Ghulam Muhammad Chopan, the violence left no choice but to abandon his home.

“At this age, I had to leave my house. At night, the firing was so intense that by dawn, the village was empty. Everyone fled,” he said.

Farther south in Wuyan, a town in Pampore known for its saffron fields, residents were shaken awake around 1:30am by a loud explosion.

“A fireball exploded with a flash,” recalled Gulzar Ahmad. “I could see two aircraft. One of them returned promptly. But the other one that exploded, its wreckage had fallen into a school playground. Later, it started emitting acrid smoke that drew a large crowd.”

Pakistan claims it downed five Indian jets during the exchange. While multiple sources suggest at least three aircraft were hit, Indian officials have not confirmed any losses.

As the specter of war looms over the region, residents have started stockpiling essentials—fuel, food, and medical supplies—preparing for the worst.

“War should never be rejoiced. When the shells hit, they don’t ask your identity,” said Farooq Ahmad from Kamalkote village. “Those calling for the war do not know how it feels when a shell lands on your kids when they are asleep at night.”