Latest news with #Salamabad
Arab News
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Weary border residents in Indian-administered Kashmir struggle to survive
URI, India: Mohammad Naseem says his neighbors laughed when he borrowed money and built a concrete bunker under his home in a village near the disputed Kashmir border. But this week, when mortar bombs rained in Salamabad, 38 people — men, women, and children — huddled in it as about a dozen shells exploded outside in quick succession. One of them destroyed Naseem's home. 'Many of us would have died had we not moved into the bunker,' Naseem, a 34-year-old hotel chef, told AFP. 'We grabbed our children and rushed inside. It got so packed that after some time we felt suffocated, two of our children became unconscious,' he said. 'The children had to be hospitalized after daybreak when the shelling stopped.' Other villagers hid behind rocks and bushes on the mountain slopes. Some watched their homes being reduced to rubble. Deadly confrontations between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan erupted after New Delhi accused Islamabad of backing an April 22 attack on tourists on the Indian-administered side of the disputed territory, which killed 26 people. Pakistan denies the charge. 'We took our children out and went up the mountain slope holding them tightly as bombs exploded around us,' Naseer Ahmed Khan, 50, said outside his damaged house on Thursday. 'Our life is worth nothing. At any time, entire families could be wiped out,' Khan said. 'Our children are not able to sleep and we cannot have a meal in peace.' The exchange of heavy fire has destroyed or severely damaged dozens of homes in Uri, about 100 kilometers (66 miles) from the Kashmir capital Srinagar, forcing many to flee to safer areas in towns like Baramulla, about 50 kilometers away. Sajjad Shafi, a local lawmaker told AFP that about 10 percent of Uri's population — some 22,000 people — fled since the latest fighting began. On Friday, many more were fleeing in buses and trucks provided by the government or driving off in their own cars. 'How can we stay here?' Rubina Begum said outside her destroyed home. 'The government should lodge us somewhere safe.' Begum's daughter, Saima Talib, added: 'We have nothing left except the clothes we are wearing.' Displaced people are struggling to find food and work and many are now sheltering in government buildings in Uri. Mohammad Lateef Bhat, a road construction worker, said: 'I work as a laborer with army's border roads organization but their work also stopped.' 'This morning I came to the market looking for work but there is nothing,' Bhat said. Some vegetable sellers briefly set up shop before closing. Mohammad Bashir was also despondent. 'I came to the market to find some work so I can buy some food for my family (of eight) but there is nothing,' Bashir, 60, said. The death toll from India and Pakistan's biggest clashes in decades passed 50 on Friday with each accusing the other of staging drone attacks in waves. Farooq Ahmed Khan, 35, a bus driver from Sultandhaki village near the border, said 'this fighting has made our life miserable.' Nagni, a rare mixed settlement of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs, sits on mountain slopes near the Indian army's border headquarters in Uri. Villagers say 35 of the 50 families there have fled. Badal, a 22-year-old student who only gave his first name, was cleaning up after his sister's wedding at his freshly painted home. He showed a crater caused by a mortar bomb that landed a few meters away on the night of the wedding. 'Luckily there was no loss of life but a lot of damage. What we need.. is bunkers, but there are none.' 'This village has always been a target of Pakistani attacks in the past because the (Indian) army headquarters are nearby,' said Sahil Kumar, another Nagni resident. Locals say they are fed up. 'I say there should be a war just to decide where Kashmir goes,' said Farooq Ahmed Khan, the bus driver. 'I will also go to fight in that war so that this trouble ends for good,' Khan said.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Weary border residents in Indian Kashmir struggle to survive
Mohammad Naseem says his neighbours laughed when he borrowed money and built a concrete bunker under his home in a village near the disputed Kashmir border. But this week when mortar bombs rained in Salamabad, 38 people -- men, women, and children -- huddled in it as about a dozen shells exploded outside in quick succession. One of them destroyed Naseem's home. "Many of us would have died had we not moved into the bunker," Naseem, a 34-year-old hotel chef, told AFP. "We grabbed our children and rushed inside. It got so packed that after some time we felt suffocated, two of our children became unconscious," he said. "The children had to be hospitalised after daybreak when the shelling stopped." Other villagers hid behind rocks and bushes on the mountain slopes. Some watched their homes being reduced to rubble. Deadly confrontations between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan erupted after New Delhi accused Islamabad of backing an April 22 attack on tourists on the Indian-run side of the disputed territory, which killed 26 people. Pakistan denies the charge. - 'Our life is worth nothing' - "We took our children out and went up the mountain slope holding them tightly as bombs exploded around us," Naseer Ahmed Khan, 50, said outside his damaged house on Thursday. "Our life is worth nothing. At any time entire families could be wiped out," Khan said. "Our children are not able to sleep and we cannot have a meal in peace." The exchange of heavy fire has destroyed or severely damaged dozens of homes in Uri, about 100 kilometres (66 miles) from the Kashmir capital Srinagar, forcing many to flee to safer areas in towns like Baramulla, about 50 kilometres away. Sajjad Shafi, a local lawmaker told AFP that about 10 percent of Uri's population -- some 22,000 people -- fled since the latest fighting began. On Friday, many more were fleeing in buses and trucks provided by the government or driving off in their own cars. "How can we stay here?" Rubina Begum said outside her destroyed home. "The government should lodge us somewhere safe". Begum's daughter, Saima Talib, added: "We have nothing left except the clothes we are wearing". Displaced people are struggling to find food and work and many are now sheltering in government buildings in Uri. - 'Return empty' - Mohammad Lateef Bhat, a road construction worker, said: "I work as a labourer with army's border roads organisation but their work also stopped." "This morning I came to the market looking for work but there is nothing," Bhat said. Some vegetable sellers briefly set up shop before closing. Mohammad Bashir was also despondent. "I came to the market to find some work so I can buy some food for my family (of eight) but there is nothing," Bashir, 60, said. The death toll from India and Pakistan's biggest clashes in decades passed 50 on Friday with each accusing the other of staging drone attacks in waves. Farooq Ahmed Khan, 35, a bus driver from Sultandhaki village near the border, said "this fighting has made our life miserable." Nagni, a rare mixed settlement of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs, sits on mountain slopes near the Indian army's border headquarters in Uri. Villagers say 35 of the 50 families there have fled. Badal, a 22-year-old student who only gave his first name, was cleaning up after his sister's wedding at his freshly painted home. - 'There should be war' - He showed a crater caused by a mortar bomb that landed a few metres away on the night of the wedding. "Luckily there was no loss of life but a lot of damage. What we need.. is bunkers, but there are none". "This village has always been a target of Pakistani attacks in the past because the (Indian) army headquarters are nearby," said Sahil Kumar, another Nagni resident. Locals say they are fed up. "I say there should be a war just to decide where Kashmir goes," said Farooq Ahmed Khan, the bus driver. "I will also go to fight in that war so that this trouble ends for good," Khan said. pzb/ach/hmn
BBC News
07-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Villagers tell BBC they survived shelling in Indian-administered Kashmir
Villagers tell BBC they survived shelling in Indian-administered Kashmir Just now Share Save Aamir Peerzada Reporting from Indian-administered Kashmir Share Save BBC Badrudin said he was forced to flee Salamabad overnight as shells hit his village In the village of Salamabad in Indian-administered Kashmir on Wednesday morning, ruined homes were still smouldering. This small settlement lies close to the Line of Control which separates Indian-administered and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, the scene of rapidly escalating tensions in recent weeks that led to strikes from India on sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Tuesday night. The streets of Salamabad were almost completely empty the next morning. Locals said the village was struck by Pakistani shelling. Most of the residents had fled the bombardment, leaving chickens pecking in their cages in gardens. Bashir Ahmad, a local shopkeeper who witnessed the destruction, told the BBC that around 02:00 local time (20:30 GMT), "while we were fast asleep, a loud explosion jolted us awake." "Mortar shells had landed near a water dam, and by 03:00 more shells struck several houses, setting them ablaze. "The government issued no warning or advisory about the cross-border shelling, and we have no safety bunkers to take shelter in." Bashir Ahmad was one of the few people left in Salamabad Salamabad is no stranger to this kind of shelling: until 2021, incidents of cross-border fire were reported regularly. However, a ceasefire agreement signed between the militaries of both countries saw the number of attacks sharply decrease. Life returned to normal for most, free of fear - that was, until Wednesday morning. Uncertainty now hangs over the villages scattered along the Line of Control once more. Mr Ahmad estimated that only a handful of Salamabad's 100 or so residents had remained, the rest having left in search of safety from what he described as the most intense shelling in years. In the village, two homes had been torn apart by mortars. Through a hole in the wall of one house, some crockery had remained impossibly upright on a shelf - while everything else around lay shattered or burned. The small homes were no match for the scale of the firepower they encountered overnight. They had been entirely hollowed out by explosions and fire, their tin roofs buckled above them. At a hospital 40km away, Badrudin said he was injured in the shelling, along with this eight-year-old son and sister-in-law. He identified one of the destroyed houses in a picture as his. He said: "We were all in deep sleep when... a mortar shell landed near our homes. The children were also asleep." "The shelling was intense, we somehow managed to flee." Badrudin said he had taken out a loan of ₹3 lakh ($3,540 ; £2,653) to build his home in Salamabad. "Everything is gone now," he said. "We're too afraid to return." He continued: "Rebuilding the house will be incredibly difficult—we need the government to step in and help. "We want peace, not war."
