Eerie silence prevails in Poonch houses that once reverberated with laughter

Hindustan Times

13-05-2025

The shells not only broke their homes but also hopes. Once filled with laughter, an eerie silence hangs over the houses destroyed by shelling from across the border in Poonch.
The walls of the house of Vihaan Bhargav, 13, are filled with his sketches and drawings. His once active pet dog now sits silently in the courtyard of their modest home in Dungus, Poonch – a quiet witness to his absence.
Bhargav is among the minors in the border town of Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir, who were killed in the cross-border shelling from Pakistan. The family was attempting to flee to Jammu when the shelling intensified in the town. A Pakistani mortar shell hit their car in Bhainch being driven by his father Sajeev Kumar. The shell hit the boy on his head, killing the only child to his parents.
'They were fleeing to safety but who knew this would happen. He was a nice kid and I have seen him since he was born. This is tragic for us all. He was good in studies and was very creative,' told their neighbour Gurcharan Singh breaking down.
Father does not know twins are no more
The lives of Rameez Khan and his wife Arousa Khan were shattered on May 7, when the cross-border shelling from Pakistan claimed the lives of their 12-year-old twins, Ayan and Aruba. The family had moved to the town just a month earlier, in the hope of better education for their children.
On that tragic day, as the shelling intensified, the family attempted to return to their native village in Kalaani for safety—but they could not make it.
Narrating the ordeal, their neighbour Parvez Ahmad Malik said, 'I tried to stop them because the shelling was intense. But when Rameez stepped outside, a shell exploded near the house at around 7 am. His daughter died on the spot. His son was still breathing but succumbed to his injuries a short while later in the hospital in Poonch. We are all in shock. The children were kind and well-behaved, everyone here loved them.'
Rameez Khan, who was also injured in the blast is still hospitalised. According to neighbours, he still doesn't know that his children are gone.
Meanwhile, on the same day, Javid Iqbal, a resident of Sukha Kattha in Poonch, was at home with his family when a shell struck just outside their house. The blast killed his 7-year-old daughter Maryam Khatoon and injured his other daughter Iram Khatoon.
'We were all at home. The situation was already tense due to the overnight shelling from Pakistan. Around 9 am, a shell exploded outside,' said Iqbal. 'What can I say now? She gave her life for the country. She was innocent and I miss her every moment. We had no shelter to run to and even after a night of shelling, no immediate help arrived. My daughter's body laid at our home for three hours.'
Iqbal, who runs a small shop, has since moved with his family to their native village of Qasbah for safety.
'Maryam was humble and friendly. We all loved her dearly. The shelling on May 7 took her away from us,' said Mohammad Mukhtar, Iqbal's cousin.