Unease lingers in Kashmir despite ceasefire
Joy about an India-Pakistan ceasefire has been short-lived in Kashmir.
Tens of thousands fled the Indian-controlled part of the disputed region last week amid heavy shelling and drone attacks by Pakistan.
Yet despite a ceasefire announced on Saturday, only a handful of families returned to their homes on Sunday.
"We will go back only after complete calm prevails," said Basharat Ahmed, who lives in Poonch district.
"It doesn't take much time for the two countries to start fighting on the border."
The ceasefire was intended to halt the hostilities between the nuclear-armed neighbours and defuse the worst military confrontation between them for decades.
But just hours later, each side accused the other of violating the deal.
Indian officials said Pakistani shelling since Wednesday had killed at least 23 people and injured scores more.
The shelling also damaged or destroyed hundreds of residential buildings.
A man and his family in Indian-controlled Kashmir had taken shelter in a government-run college in the town of Baramulla.
When they left early on Sunday, soldiers at a checkpoint stopped them, without giving a reason, before they could reach home in the Uri area of Poonch.
"Our joy around the ceasefire just vanished," said Bashir Ahmed.
He and his family had to return to the shelter at the college.
Indian and Pakistani soldiers each guard their side of the frontier.
There are watch towers every few hundred metres.
Some Indian and Pakistani troops are so close they can wave to one another.
A deadly attack on tourists in Kashmir last month plunged India-Pakistan relations to new lows.
India accused its neighbour of backing the massacre, in which 26 men, mostly Indian Hindus, were killed — a charge Pakistan denies.
Both countries subsequently expelled each other's diplomats and nationals, and shut borders and airspace.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has expressed gratitude to US President Donald Trump for his invaluable offer to play a greater role in bringing lasting peace to South Asia.Expressing confidence in US President Trump, the Prime Minister remarked that Pakistan has found a… pic.twitter.com/jclNF0Eqbh
— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) May 11, 2025
There were missile strikes, drone attacks, and heavy artillery fire in the days that followed.
On Sunday, India said its missile strikes into Pakistani territory last week killed at least 100 militants, including prominent leaders.
Across the border that divides Kashmir, people feared Indian attacks would flatten their villages.
They began returning after the deal was announced, only to see their houses and businesses wrecked, uninhabitable or unsafe, and their belongings ruined.
People are unsure if the ceasefire will hold and who will help them rebuild their lives.
Abdul Shakoor, from Chinari in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, ran for his life on Wednesday.
He and his family escaped through fields and walked almost 10 kilometres to take shelter at a relative's house.
"Many people in other cities who support war don't realise who suffers the most when conflict breaks out or when two armies exchange fire," said Shakoor.
"It's the people living near the border who pay the highest price."
Although the ceasefire had brought people "immense relief," he wanted both countries to talk to each other.
"In the end, even after war, it all comes back to dialogue."
Nestled among the lush green landscape of the Neelum Valley lay dusty mounds of debris and rubble.
The scenic spot a few kilometres from the Line of Control makes it vulnerable when tensions spike or there are cross-border skirmishes.
The valley runs along the Neelum River and, in some places, the border posts of both Pakistan and India are visible.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
6 hours ago
- Washington Post
Sudan's paramilitaries seize a key area along with the border with Libya and Egypt
CAIRO — Sudanese paramilitaries at war with the country's military for over two years claimed to have seized a strategic area along the border with neighboring Libya and Egypt. The Rapid Support Forces said in a statement Wednesday that they captured the triangular zone, fortifying their presence along Sudan' s already volatile border with chaos-stricken Libya. The RSF's announcement came hours after the military said it had evacuated the area as part of 'its defensive arrangements to repel aggression' by the paramilitaries. On Tuesday the military accused the forces of powerful Libyan commander Khalifa Hifter of supporting the RSF's attack on the area, in a 'blatant aggression against Sudan, its land, and its people.' Hifter's forces, which control eastern and southern Libya, rejected the claim, saying in a statement that the Sudanese accusations were 'a blatant attempt to export the Sudanese internal crisis and create a virtual external enemy.' The attack on the border area was the latest twist in Sudan's civil war which erupted in April 2023 when tensions between the Sudanese army and RSF exploded with street battles in the capital, Khartoum that quickly spread across the country. The war has killed at least 24,000 people, though the number is likely far higher. It has driven about 13 million people from their homes, including 4 million who crossed into neighboring countries. It created the world's worst humanitarian crisis , and parts of the country have been pushed into famine. The fighting has been marked by atrocities including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in Darfur, according to the U.N. and international rights groups.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
3 killed and scores injured as Russia targets Ukraine with new attacks
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces have pummeled Ukraine with drones and other weapons, killing three people and injuring scores of others despite international pressure to accept a ceasefire, officials said Thursday. According to the Ukrainian air force, Russia launched a barrage of 63 drones and decoys at Ukraine overnight. It said that air defenses destroyed 28 drones while another 21 were jammed. Ukraine's police said two people were killed and six were injured over the past 24 hours in the eastern Donetsk region, the focus of the Russian offensive. One person was killed and 14 others were also injured in the southern Kherson region, which is partly occupied by Russian forces, police said. The head of the Kharkiv region, Oleh Syniehubov, said that 15 people, including four children, were injured by Russian drone attacks overnight. Kharkiv city mayor Ihor Terekhov said Russian drones targeted residential districts, educational facilities, kindergartens and other civilian infrastructure. 'Kharkiv is holding on. People are alive. And that is the most important thing,' Terekhov said. The Russian military has launched waves of drones and missiles in recent days, with a record bombardment of almost 500 drones on Monday and a wave of 315 drones and seven missiles overnight on Tuesday. The recent escalation in aerial attacks has come alongside a renewed Russian battlefield push along eastern and northeastern parts of the more than 1,000-kilometer (over 600-mile) front line. While Russian missile and drone barrage have struck regions all across Ukraine, regions along the front line have faced daily Russian attacks with short-range exploding drones and glide bombs. Ukraine hit back with drone raids. Russia's Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 52 Ukrainian drones early Thursday, including 41 over the Belgorod region that borders Ukraine. Regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said three people were injured by Ukrainian attacks Thursday. The attacks have continued despite discussions of a potential ceasefire in the war. During their June 2 talks in Istanbul, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators traded memorandums containing sharply divergent conditions that both sides see as nonstarters, making any quick deal unlikely. Speaking at a meeting of leaders of southeast European countries in Odesa, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the European Union to toughen its latest package of sanctions against Russia. He argued that lowering the cap on the price of Russian oil from $60 to $45 as the bloc has proposed isn't enough. 'Real peace comes with a $30 cap -– that's the level that will truly change thinking in Moscow,' Zelenskyy said. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius arrived in Kyiv Thursday on an unannounced visit, noting that the stepped-up Russian attacks on Ukraine send a message from Moscow that it has 'no interest in a peaceful solution at present,' according to German news agency dpa. Pistorius said his visit underlines that the new German government continues to stand by Ukraine. 'Of course this will also be about how the support of Germany and other Europeans will look in future – what we can do, for example, in the area of industrial cooperation, but also other support,' he said.
Washington Post
6 hours ago
- Washington Post
3 killed and scores injured as Russia targets Ukraine with new attacks
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces have pummeled Ukraine with drones and other weapons, killing three people and injuring scores of others despite international pressure to accept a ceasefire , officials said Thursday. According to the Ukrainian air force, Russia launched a barrage of 63 drones and decoys at Ukraine overnight. It said that air defenses destroyed 28 drones while another 21 were jammed. Ukraine's police said two people were killed and six were injured over the past 24 hours in the eastern Donetsk region, the focus of the Russian offensive. One person was killed and 14 others were also injured in the southern Kherson region, which is partly occupied by Russian forces, police said. The head of the Kharkiv region, Oleh Syniehubov, said that 15 people, including four children, were injured by Russian drone attacks overnight. Kharkiv city mayor Ihor Terekhov said Russian drones targeted residential districts, educational facilities, kindergartens and other civilian infrastructure. 'Kharkiv is holding on. People are alive. And that is the most important thing,' Terekhov said. The Russian military has launched waves of drones and missiles in recent days, with a record bombardment of almost 500 drones on Monday and a wave of 315 drones and seven missiles overnight on Tuesday. The recent escalation in aerial attacks has come alongside a renewed Russian battlefield push along eastern and northeastern parts of the more than 1,000-kilometer (over 600-mile) front line. While Russian missile and drone barrage have struck regions all across Ukraine, regions along the front line have faced daily Russian attacks with short-range exploding drones and glide bombs. Ukraine hit back with drone raids. Russia's Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 52 Ukrainian drones early Thursday, including 41 over the Belgorod region that borders Ukraine. Regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said three people were injured by Ukrainian attacks Thursday. The attacks have continued despite discussions of a potential ceasefire in the war. During their June 2 talks in Istanbul, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators traded memorandums containing sharply divergent conditions that both sides see as nonstarters , making any quick deal unlikely. Speaking at a meeting of leaders of southeast European countries in Odesa, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the European Union to toughen its latest package of sanctions against Russia. He argued that lowering the cap on the price of Russian oil from $60 to $45 as the bloc has proposed isn't enough. 'Real peace comes with a $30 cap -– that's the level that will truly change thinking in Moscow,' Zelenskyy said. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius arrived in Kyiv Thursday on an unannounced visit, noting that the stepped-up Russian attacks on Ukraine send a message from Moscow that it has 'no interest in a peaceful solution at present,' according to German news agency dpa. Pistorius said his visit underlines that the new German government continues to stand by Ukraine. 'Of course this will also be about how the support of Germany and other Europeans will look in future – what we can do, for example, in the area of industrial cooperation, but also other support,' he said.
