AP PHOTOS: Clashes between India and Pakistan upend lives in a Kashmiri village
GINGAL, India (AP) — Mohammad Younis Khan was among 40 residents seeking shelter in a cowshed when shelling began in Gingal, a scenic mountain village in north Kashmir on the Indian-controlled side of the de facto border with Pakistan. Men, women and children sought refuge in the 3-meter-by-4.2 meter (10-feet-by-14 feet) space, which they felt offered greater safety than their brick and cement homes.
Huddled together, they heard the
swoosh and thunder of the projectiles
being fired from both sides of the border. When they heard a very loud sound from just outside the shelter, they held their breath and expected the worst. But the projectile had landed on soft earth and detonated a couple of feet below the ground sparing them.
Younis, who could tell the outgoing projectiles from the incoming ones by the sound they made, described the impact outside 'as if a lightning bolt had struck the ground.' They all feared that India and Pakistan were at war and they would not survive the night.
'We were so scared that we didn't dare go out to a water tap just four feet away from the door even when the children were crying of thirst,' Younis told The Associated Press.
Mohammad Shafi and four family members were having dinner in their kitchen when they heard explosions and ran outside. They had just managed to reach the road when they saw a blast damage the kitchen they had been dining in. They ran down a slope and hid among trees.
It was the night of May 8, and the shelling had intensified from the previous evening. Nasreena Begum rushed out, leaving her special-needs son behind as he was too heavy to be carried. She was tormented but was relieved to find him safe at home the following morning.
Most residents left Gingal for the town of Baramulla about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south, where some saw their homes destroyed on TV or social media.
Naseer Ahmad, a Jammu & Kashmir police officer posted in south Kashmir, learned via Facebook that shelling damaged his Paranpillan home, instantly recognizable by the surprisingly intact large walnut tree beside it.
Following the May 10 ceasefire, residents of Gingal returned to assess the damage, finding their homes riddled with shrapnel. Those with intact or livable houses sheltered neighbors who had lost theirs.
About 160 kilometers (100 miles) south, the usually bustling tourist spot of Pahalgam is now quiet, its residents facing a different challenge. It was here when, on April 22,
militants killed 26 tourists
in the worst assault in years targeting civilians in the restive region.
Pahalgam, usually lively with May holidaymakers, is now deserted. Businesses are shuttered and tourist attractions within a 30-kilometer (18-mile) radius of the massacre site are closed to locals and visitors alike.
Back in Gingal, Younis prays for peace.
'Where will we go if the clashes continue? Drones can reach anywhere,' he said. 'Those who want war have never experienced it.'
____
Bhatia reported from Dharamshala, India.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
14 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Road warrior Panthers are comfortable starting the Stanley Cup Final away from home
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — The plaque of game pucks marking the Florida Panthers' first 12 wins this playoff run to the Stanley Cup Final is full of a wide array of colors. There are three bearing the logo of the Tampa Bay Lightning from the first round, two of the Toronto Maple Leafs from the second and three more of the Carolina Hurricanes from the Eastern Conference final. It's visual evidence just how good they have been on the road, going 8-2 into just the second final in NHL history featuring teams that started all three series on the way there away from home. The Panthers again open on the road when they play at the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 on Wednesday night, looking to keep their good vibes going far from South Florida. 'We've been having some good starts on the road, and we want to bring that for sure this series,' top defenseman Gustav Forsling said Tuesday. 'We like being on the road with each other.' Players brushed off the home/road splits — 'That's just the stats,' goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky said — but there may be something much deeper to it. The Panthers travel differently than most teams in the league, often staying overnight during the regular season and choosing to value extra time at home in the playoffs before flying. 'We have a lot of good people in our organization who are working on that stuff and doing the research (on) what is the best for the recovery and all that stuff,' defenseman Nikko Mikkola said. 'As a player, you don't have to think too much. You just do what they tell you and just go with that.' The Panthers opted to practice at home Monday, then travel the 2,500 miles (4,023 kilometers) to Edmonton on Tuesday. They followed a similar routine last year, when they beat the Oilers in the final. 'We just got off the plane, went to the gym, did a little activation stuff and feeling really good right now and I'm sure we will feel good tomorrow morning, too,' forward Jesper Boqvist said, adding he's not sure why Florida is so good in unfriendly confines. 'I don't have a secret answer to that, but I think we are comfortable either way.' So are the Oilers, who are 6-3 away from home. Veteran forward Adam Henrique, who in 2012 played for New Jersey against Los Angeles in the only other final with teams that started the first three rounds on the road, considers it a project of collective maturity. 'Good teams, you just find a way,' Henrique said. 'It's a business trip. You go and have got to do your job, go take care of business and put yourself in a good spot to come home.' Brown a question Edmonton won't have winger Zach Hyman the rest of the way after he was injured late in the West final against Dallas. There's a little bit of lineup intrigue elsewhere, too. Coach Kris Knoblauch said Monday he expected Connor Brown, who missed the clincher last round, to play in Game 1. Brown missed practice Tuesday with an illness, and Knoblauch said the 31-year-old would be a game-time decision. If Brown is able to play, it looks like Jeff Skinner would remain in, with Viktor Arvidsson potentially coming out. Skinner was a healthy scratch from Game 1 of the first round until replacing Hyman in Game 5 against the Stars and scoring in that win. Skinner, who played over 1,000 regular-season games before finally making his playoff debut, has tried his best to stay ready for his opportunity. 'When you get this far, there's a lot at stake and a lot more emotion and excitement involved in everything,' Skinner said. 'You get this close, you want to put your best foot forward and that will be exciting.' More Perry Corey Perry is about to play in the final for a fifth time in six years and the sixth time in his career, he just turned 40 and he does not have a contract beyond this season. Does that mean he's considering retirement? Nope. 'That's the plan is to be back next year,' Perry said. 'It's just not in me to think about it. There's a lot of things that I love doing. I love playing. I like being around the room. I don't think that's going to be coming into my head any time soon, either, and it's just who I am.' ___ AP NHL playoffs: and
Associated Press
14 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Where's Marty McFly's guitar? Search is on for 'Back to the Future' prop 4 decades later
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Marty McFly grabbed a guitar in 'Back to the Future' and rocked out with the band at a 1950s high school dance, helping him narrowly avoid blinking out of existence before time-traveling back to the 1980s. The guitar, in real life, wasn't as lucky. Filmmakers went looking for the instrument while making the movie's 1989 sequel, but even now it's nowhere to be found. Four decades after the blockbuster film debuted, the guitar's creator has launched a search for the iconic Cherry Red Gibson ES-345. Gibson, which is based in Nashville, is asking the public for help tracking it down as the movie turns 40 and as the company produces a new documentary about the search and the film, 'Lost to the Future.' In a video by Gibson, with the movie's theme song playing in the background, 'Back to the Future' stars such as Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Harry Waters Jr. make a cinematic plea. There's also a surprise appearance by Huey Lewis, whose band Huey Lewis and the News performed the soundtrack's headliner song, 'The Power of Love.' Lloyd, in the cadence of Doc Brown, says in the video that the guitar has been 'lost to the future.' 'It's somewhere lost in the space-time continuum,' says Fox, who played McFly. 'Or it's in some Teamster's garage.' In the film, McFly steps in for an injured band member at the 1955 school dance with the theme 'Enchantment under the Sea,' playing the guitar as students slow dance to 'Earth Angel.' He then leads Marvin Barry and the Starlighters in a rendition of 'Johnny B. Goode,' calling it an oldie where he comes was from even though the 1958 song doesn't exist yet for his audience. Fox said he wanted McFly to riff through his favorite guitarists' signature styles — Jimi Hendrix behind the head, Pete Townshend's windmill and the Eddie Van Halen hammer. After digging and dancing to 'Johnny B. Goode,' the students at the dance fall into an awkward silence as McFly's riffs turn increasingly wild. 'I guess you guys aren't ready for that yet,' McFly says. 'But your kids are gonna love it.'
22 minutes ago
Outspoken liberal leader Lee elected South Korea's president, closing period of political tumult
SEOUL, South Korea -- SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Lee Jae-myung, who rose from childhood poverty to become South Korea's leading liberal politician vowing to fight inequality and corruption, will become the country's next president on Wednesday after an election that closed one of the most turbulent chapters in the young democracy. Lee, 60, the candidate of the liberal opposition Democratic Party, is taking office for a full, single five-year term, succeeding Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative who was felled over his stunning yet brief imposition of martial law in December. It was unclear whether Lee's election would cause any major, immediate shift in South Korea's foreign policy. Lee, previously accused by critics of tilting toward China and North Korea and away from the U.S. and Japan, has repeatedly stressed South Korea's alliance with the U.S. as the foundation of its foreign policy. The toughest external challenges awaiting Lee are U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policy and North Korea's advancing nuclear program. But experts earlier said whoever becomes president can't do much to secure major progress in South Korea's favor on those issues. As of 3:45 a.m. Wednesday, with over 99% of the votes counted, Lee obtained 49.3% of the votes cast in Tuesday's early election, while main conservative contender Kim Moon Soo trailed with 41.3% — a gap that was impossible to overcome mathematically. Preelection surveys have long suggested Lee appeared headed for an easy win, riding on deep public frustration over the conservatives in the wake of Yoon's martial law debacle. Even before Lee's win was formally declared, Kim conceded, telling journalists that he 'humbly accepts the people's choice,' and congratulated Lee. Earlier, Lee appeared before thousands of cheering supporters on Seoul's streets. He didn't formally claim victory, but reiterated his major policy goals, such as revitalizing the economy, promoting peace with North Korea and easing a domestic divide. 'Let us move forward with hope and make a fresh start from this moment on,' he said. 'Though we may have clashed for some time, even those who did not support us are still our fellow citizens of the Republic of Korea.' Lee, who served as governor of Gyeonggi province and mayor of Seongnam city, has been a highly divisive figure in politics for years. As a former child laborer known for his inspirational rags-to-riches story, Lee came to fame through biting criticism of the country's conservative establishment and calls to build a more assertive South Korea in foreign policy. That rhetoric has given him an image as someone who can institute sweeping reforms and fix the country's deep-seated economic inequality and corruption. His critics view him as a dangerous populist who relies on political division and backpedals on promises too easily. On foreign policy, Lee has vowed to pursue pragmatic diplomacy. He has promised to develop the alliance with the U.S. and solidify a trilateral Seoul-Washington-Tokyo partnership, a stance that isn't much different from the position held by South Korea's conservatives. 'We'll have to now see if the pressures of office will cause Lee Jae-myung to govern from the center — at least when it comes to matters of national security and the alliance with the United States,' said Ankit Panda, an expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Lee said that he would pursue better ties with North Korea, but acknowledged that it would be 'very difficult' to hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un anytime soon. This signals Lee won't likely initiate any drastic steps meant to improve relations with North Korea. Experts say there aren't many diplomatic options for South Korea as it tries to address Trump's tariff hikes and calls for South Korea to pay more for the cost of the U.S. military presence, as well as North Korea's headlong pursuit of nuclear weapons. Experts say that has made both Lee and other candidates avoid unveiling ambitious foreign policy goals. Paik Wooyeal, a professor at Seoul's Yonsei University, said that foreign policy strategists for Lee understand there isn't much South Korea can do to bring about a denuclearization of North Korea. Paik said Lee also doesn't share the Korean nationalistic zeal held by ex-liberal President Moon Jae-in, who met Kim Jong Un three times during his 2017-22 term. There are still hopes that diplomacy between the U.S. and North Korea could resume, with Trump repeatedly expressing his intent to reach out to Kim Jong Un. Lee has said that he would support Trump's outreach. 'South Korea and the United States may be better aligned on engaging North Korea under the current constellation of leadership in both countries,' Panda said. 'The two sides should begin consultations soon to ensure they're aligned on their goals.' Lee's government still could become engaged in 'a little bit of friction' with the Trump administration, said Chung Jin-young, a former dean of the Graduate School of Pan-Pacific International Studies at South Korea's Kyung Hee University. Chung predicted Lee still won't be able to pursue overly drastic steps on foreign policy and security, given the country's foreign exchange and financial markets are vulnerable to such changes. Lee has preached patience over Trump's tariff policy, arguing it would be a mistake to rush negotiations in pursuit of an early agreement with Washington. On Monday, South Korean trade officials held an emergency meeting to discuss a response to Trump's announcement that the U.S. will raise tariffs on steel and aluminum products to 50% beginning Wednesday. South Korea's central bank last week sharply lowered its 2025 growth outlook to 0.8%, citing the potential impact of Trump's tariff hikes and weak domestic demand worsened by the political turmoil of past months. The election serves as another defining moment in the country's resilient democracy, but observers worry a worsened domestic divide could pose a big political burden on the new president. The past six months saw large crowds of people rallying to either denounce or support Yoon, while a leadership vacuum caused by Yoon's impeachment and ensuing formal dismissal rattled the country's high-level diplomatic activities and financial markets. Lee has promised to heal the national split, but his vow to thoroughly hold those involved in Yoon's martial law stunt accountable has sparked concerns that he would use investigations to launch political retaliations against his opponents. 'The next question is just how Lee will represent and protect South Korea's democracy,' said Soo Kim, a former CIA Korea analyst and geopolitical risk consultant. 'Will South Korea's politics still remain focused on retribution, or will Seoul finally look beyond this and work constructively and progressively for the country's best long-term democratic interests?' she said. 'It's a tall order for Lee.'
