Calm returns to villages near LoC in Jammu and Kashmir after guns, cannons fall silent
As the guns fell silent on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir after India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire, displaced residents of border villages on Sunday (May 11, 2025) sounded hopeful of returning to their homes. However, many such villages may still remain out of bounds for residents because of littered live explosives.
Officials said the border districts of Kupwara and Baramulla in the Kashmir Valley, and Poonch and Rajouri in the Pir Panjal Valley, witnessed much-needed calm after many days of shelling and cross-border firing, which left at least 18 civilians dead. Many villagers in both Jammu and Kashmir regions began returning to their damaged houses and resumed their daily routine.
India-Pakistan ceasefire LIVE: Follow the latest updates for May 11, 2025
In Baramulla's Uri, shops reopened and people were seen shopping in the main market. Villages around Uri were among the worst affected in Pakistan's shelling, with over a dozen structures damaged. Around 100 families had fled Silikote, Salamabad, Churanda and pockets that fall near the Zero Line along the LoC.
Around 500 people had to take refuge at multiple centres, including two schools in Baramulla, after the Pakistan Army resorted to heavy shelling. Scores of children who missed school were excited to rejoin their school. 'We study in a school in Uri tehsil. I have not seen my classmates for many days now. I am excited to go back to school once it reopens. I pray shelling doesn't take place again,' Sadia Ji, a student of Class 8, said.
The Poonch district in the Jammu region had borne the brunt of Pakistan shelling. An official said the district's police and court complexes sustained damage in the shelling. Vikas Kundal, Deputy Commissioner of Poonch, visited several localities including Qazi Mohra, Dungus, Sarain, Jamia Zia Ul Uloom, Geeta Bhawan, Kamsar and Kama Khan. 'All of these areas suffered damage due to shelling,' Mr. Kundal said. Out of the 18 civilian deaths in the Union Territory, 14 were from Poonch district.
Meanwhile, the police urged locals to avoid returning to frontline areas. 'We are not allowed to return. We are told the area will be cleared first,' a said displaced local from Silikote at the Government Women's College, Baramulla, which serves as a shelter for the displaced population from Uri. The police said there was risk of 'unexploded munitions after Pakistani shelling'.
National Conference leader and MLA from Uri Sajjad Shafi said the 'unexploded shells are scattered from Dachi to Kamalkote and Duwalta to Garkote in Uri'.
'The ceasefire has been in effect only for the past 24 hours. Let the area be sanitised and unexploded shells cleared. It will take a couple of days. We will alert people to return to their villages thereafter,' Mr. Shafi said.
Former J&K Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti visited Salamabad near the LoC. 'Our wounded lie in hospitals. Our families huddle in shelters. Our homes are reduced to rubble. This is why Kashmir cries out for peace, not war,' Ms. Mufti said.
She said those who beat the drums of war don't hear our children weep. 'They don't see our parents breaking under the weight of fear and loss. We need homes, not bunkers. We want our children to grow and not be buried under violence. The war-mongering must stop,' the PDP president said.
In an appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ms. Mufti said, 'Decision-makers should prioritise dialogue over military escalation. Let us build a future where the children of J&K can live without fear,' she added.
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