Civilian death toll due to Pak intensive shelling rises to 17
Srinagar: The civilian death toll due to shelling from across LoC has risen to 17 in Jammu & Kashmir.
#Operation Sindoor
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The J&K administration has announced that schools in Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Rajouri and Poonch of Jammu division, and Baramulla, Kupwara, Gurez, and those near Srinagar and Awantipora airports in Kashmir division will remain closed on May 9. The Law School Admission Test and J&K State Eligibility Test scheduled on May 11 have also been postponed.
The Srinagar and Jammu airports continued to remain shut and the main highway connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country was shut due to landslides caused by heavy rainfall in Ramban district. Hospitals have started preparations to combat the crisis, if and when it may arise.
Officials said the death toll of civilians has increased to 16 mainly in Poonch district of Jammu where heavy shelling was reported in the intervening night of May 6 and May 7. One Army man was also killed.
"During the night of 7-8 May, 2025, Pakistan army posts resorted to unprovoked fire using small arms and artillery guns across the LoC in areas opposite Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri and Akhnoor areas of J&K. The
Indian Army
responded proportionately," said a defence spokesperson here.
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In Poonch, locals were either busy with the last rites of those killed or looking after the injured at medical facilities. Many were seen rummaging through the rubble of their homes destroyed in the shelling. Some of the forward areas were emptied following the killing as scores of border residents have been removed to safer locations.
"It was unimaginable and horrific," said a local resident Imtiyaz Ahmad, a resident of Poonch. In northern Kashmir's Uri, locals revisited their homes destroyed in the shelling. "We have been told to go to safer places as some houses were completely destroyed in the Salamabad area," said Farooq Ahmad Sheikh of Uri.
Officials said they would focus on ensuring a swift response to any emerging challenges. The review meeting was held against the backdrop of Pakistan's indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas.
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