Srinagar May 7 : Three civilians including a woman was killed in Pakistan shelling in Medhar area of Poonch district last night, according to officials.
“Pakistan Army resorted to arbitrary firing including Artillery shelling from posts across the Line of Control (LoC) and IB opposite J&K. Three innocent civilians lost their lives in indiscriminate firing/shelling. Indian Army are responding in proportionate manner,”said an official.
The three deceased were identified as Mohd Adil, Saleem Hussain and Ruby Kour.
At least five civilians were also injured in Salamabad village in the frontier district Kupwara in an intense Pakistani firing along the LoC since midnight, according to local police officers.
Around 10 houses were damaged in Dhakki village along the LoC in Mendhar area.
Pakistan began targeting Indian posts along the LoC in the early hours of Wednesday with heavy artillery shelling, hours after Indian forces carried out precision strikes on nine terror targets in retaliation to the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people.
Since the April 22 terror attack at Baisaran, the worst strike on civilians in nearly two decades, Pakistan has repeatedly flouted the ceasefire along the LoC and the international border for 12 consecutive days. But Wednesday morning saw the first instance of heavy shelling along the de-facto border in these two weeks.
Srinagar airport will remain closed for civilian flights on Wednesday, said the director of the airport. Anti-aircraft firing was heard in the Valley with sirens blaring at the 15 Corps headquarters in Srinagar, said people aware of developments. “First time heavy artillery shelling been used in Uri and Kupwara,” said an official.
Pakistani troops violated the February 2021 ceasefire agreement around 15 times between January and early April 2025. But the repeated targeting of Indian posts along the LoC, and the IB last week, has sparked the most extensive cross-border exchange since the 2021 ceasefire.
Unlike isolated, brief exchanges that were quickly resolved through established channels, the current pattern involves simultaneous salvos at multiple points and has persisted with increasing frequency after the Pahalgam terror attack.
The extensive ceasefire violations were seen as a deliberate attempt by Pakistan to escalate tensions along the LoC where it has rushed reinforcements to bolster its posture.
Summary:
Amid escalating India-Pakistan tensions following Operation Sindoor, heavy shelling by Pakistan across the LoC killed three civilians and injured five in Jammu and Kashmir.