Ground report: Fear grips India-Pak border as post-Pahalgam escalation threatens fragile peace

India Today

26-04-2025

Fear has resurfaced in border villages along the Line of Control (LoC) following two consecutive nights of unprovoked small arms firing by Pakistan. Multiple Indian Army posts across the Kashmir sector were targeted and Indian troops responded firmly, as tensions escalated between the neighbours following the Pahalgam terror attacks.India Today teams travelled to Balkot village and Uri town, areas scarred by intense shelling in the 1990s and early 2000s, and which experienced renewed violence in 2016 after the deadly attack on the Uri Army base that claimed the lives of 19 Indian soldiers. For the local population, these recent incidents are a stark and unwelcome reminder of a painful past they had hoped was behind them, though no casualties have been reported so far.advertisementThe fragile peace that had settled over the LoC following the 2003 ceasefire agreement and reaffirmed in 2021 now faces a significant threat. The recent terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22, which killed 26 tourists, has amplified the pervasive sense of unease in the region.
Balkot, a quiet village in the Uri sector, approximately 100 km from Srinagar, is once again on edge. Here, our team met Mohammed Rafiq, a retired Naik from the Indian Army who now runs a general store. From his residence, Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) is visible to the naked eye.He expressed how the peace of mind in the region has been shattered, first by the Pahalgam attack and now by the escalating border tensions."It is peaceful now, but we hear the buzz that the situation may escalate at the borders," he told India Today. "We are a bit worried since we don't have bunkers. Even if a small firearm is shot, we can hear it, and it can reach us. Our houses are within firing range".advertisementWasim Ahmed, a local young man, voiced his anxieties, saying 'We have nowhere to hide'."We hope things don't escalate because we have seen Pakistan targeting civilians. Any tension between India and Pakistan is a reason for tension for us also,' he said.Everyone in the village is praying for the situation to settle without further escalation. An elderly woman holding her grandchild shared her worry. "We keep looking at the borders day and night with tension. We have small grandchildren. We only hope things don't escalate."In Uri town, adjacent to the Uri Cantonment, residents conveyed a sense of apprehension.Advocate Murtaza Naqvi, from Kamalkote near the LoC, said, "Any cross-border tension is faced by people living on the Line of Control, who directly face Pakistan. If it increases to shelling, we will have to suffer'.'Before 2005, we had civilian bunkers, which mostly don't exist now. It means we will have to suffer,' he added.Another resident echoed this concern, saying, "We are residents of border areas, and bunkers are few. There are 30,000-40,000 people and merely 2-3 civil bunkers. But we are hopeful that the Indian government will control any ceasefire violations. Residents of these hills are with the Indian Army. Those in Jammu or Srinagar do not face the consequences, but those living on the borders face problems."advertisementSome residents, however, appeared less overtly worried, with one simply shrugging and saying, "Allah janne" (God knows).Security forces are actively patrolling the mountainous terrain on both sides of the Pir Panjal range. Despite being 200 km away, the terror attack in Pahalgam has had a ripple effect in the LoC town of Uri.The Line of Control is once again emerging as a potential flashpoint. As history has repeatedly demonstrated, it is the innocent villagers who call these rugged lands home who are invariably the first and the most severely affected by such escalations.Tune InTrending Reel
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