Indian shelling kills six, injures over 35 in AJK

A man walks through Jura Bazar on Friday/TN

Indian troops unleashed intense and indiscriminate shelling across the Line of Control (LoC) late Thursday night, targeting civilian populations in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) until dawn on Friday.

The unprovoked aggression, which resumed after sunset on Friday, left six civilians — including a 40-day-old infant — martyred and more than 30 others injured, officials confirmed.

"This was the heaviest artillery shelling in recent times, affecting even those areas that had largely remained untouched in previous ceasefire violations," said AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq at a press conference in his office on Friday afternoon.

“However, the resilience shown by our people and the befitting response by our armed forces to the enemy's aggression is truly commendable,” he added.

Earlier in the day, officials from Poonch, Muzaffarabad, and Mirpur divisions shared details of the widespread damage and casualties as the shelling intensified past midnight.

In Kotehri Najam Khan village of Bagh district, 22-year-old Usama Ishrat — who had married just ten days earlier — was martyred when an artillery shell, reportedly fired from the Uri sector, pierced the tin roof of his house at around 3:50am.
His sisters, Anoob Shahzadi, 19, and Kashaf Ishrat, 17, along with a neighbour, Basharat Hussain, 52, sustained injuries.

In Haveli district, several people were injured between 12:23am and 2am. Among them were Hurmat Kausar, 22, and her five-year-old daughter Hajira in Nakar Kot village; Muhammad Yasin, 45, in Chanjal; and Shahid Deen, 40, in Forward Kahua.

Six more civilians were injured in the villages of Phagwati, Devi Galli, Mandhol, Dhar Bazar, Mera Kehlot, Zyarat Muhalla, and Chaffar of Hajira and Abbaspur tehsils. They included Rehan Shakoor, 14; Muavia, 22; Malik Mir Akbar, 60; Chaudhry Rafique, 55; Maryam Shahzad, 35; and Muhammad Farooq, 45.

Kotli district suffered the heaviest losses between 1:25am and 2:10am. 

In Gora village of Khuiratta tehsil, 20-year-old Samra Asif and her 40-day-old daughter Ziman Fatima were martyred when a shell struck their house.

In Balyal Bharot village, 58-year-old Raja Shahpal, and in Bandli village, 32-year-old Usman Khalid were also martyred after being hit by shell fragments inside their homes. 

Locals said Khalid had returned from Libya barely a week earlier on vacation.

Those injured in different parts of Khuiratta tehsil included Imtiaz Begum, 45, and her daughters Tahira, 22, and Iqra, 20, Zobia, 22, Banaras, 45, and his son Haroon, 18, Shabbir Hussain, 52, Muhammad Rafique, 70, Muhammad Iqbal, 70, and his son Qaiser Iqbal, 26, Khurshid Mian, 50, and Shagufta Ejaz, 40.

Elsewhere in Kotli district, Muhammad Gul, 53; Salahuddin, 85; and Toshiba Akhtar, 20, were injured in Nakyal and Charhoi tehsils.

In Bhimber district, three civilians — Urooj Shabbir, 16; Muhammad Ashraf, 55; and Muzammil Hussain, 50 — were injured in shelling incidents in Samahni and Barnala tehsils.

In Muzaffarabad division, five civilians were injured in Jhelum Valley and one in Neelum Valley early Friday morning. After maghrib prayers, Indian troops resumed shelling in Neelum valley. One shell landed on a house in Shahkot village, killing a woman.

Apart from human casualties, numerous private homes and public-sector buildings — including healthcare facilities — were damaged in the cross-LoC shelling.

All educational institutions in the region remained closed on Friday. The prime minister said a review of school reopening and board examinations would be undertaken on Monday.

Muzaiz Zahid, an 18-year-old FSc student at a cadet college near Muzaffarabad, expressed concern over academic disruption.

“Our entire schedule is in disarray. Had the exams been held on time, we could have started preparing for university admissions,” he said.

“Despite the escalation, none of my classmates are fearful. Some of them from Bagh even sent me videos of shells flying over their homes last night.”

Prime Minister Haq reiterated that the determination of the Kashmiri and Pakistani people remained unwavering.

He told that in Neelum Valley, 319 residents were evacuated from Bore to Dawarian, and 119 from Ratta Pani to Sharda. In Bagh district, 79 individuals were relocated to Rara.

“People are not willing to leave their homes, which reflects their extraordinary courage,” the premier said. “We had to forcibly evacuate them for their own safety.”

Meanwhile, the government on Friday announced the suspension of weekend holidays in all departments classified as essential services under the AJK Essential Services (Maintenance) Act, 2016.

A notification listed 17 departments whose employees were directed to remain present in their offices on Saturdays and Sundays as well.

Total losses

Meanwhile, according to a statement by the SDMA, at least 17 people had embraced martyrdom and 53 others had sustained injuries in AJK since Tuesday night due to missile attacks and shelling along the LoC.

The statement added that 14 cattle had perished, while 24 houses, a shop, and two cattle sheds were completely destroyed. Another 204 houses sustained partial damage. One mosque was razed and nine others were partially damaged. Four educational institutions, three health facilities, and an electricity office also suffered partial damage. Around eight vehicles and motorcycles were either partially or completely damaged.

Tariq Naqash  

AJK govt sets up emergency response centres as 11 die amid Indian aggression

A view of smouldering Bilal Mosque/TN

In response to Indian missile strikes and intense shelling that killed at least 11 civilians and wounded several others across three districts along the Line of Control (LoC), the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government on Wednesday established a Central Emergency Response Centre to coordinate rescue, relief, and damage assessment efforts round the clock.

Officials in Muzaffarabad, Haveli, Poonch, and Kotli provided preliminary details of the devastation, noting that a precise evaluation of property losses was still underway. As part of the emergency measures, all educational institutions across the region were ordered closed until further notice.

In Muzaffarabad’s Shawai area, a mosque struck by missiles—killing three people, including its 80-year-old caretaker—remained the focus of high-profile visits throughout the day. Among the visitors were members of the United Nations Military Observers Group for India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), who were briefed by military officials on the unprovoked Indian attack.

Technical teams combed the smouldering structure for unexploded devices and evidence that might aid ongoing investigations.

Residents near the mosque shared harrowing accounts of the attack.

Safeer Awan speaking to media/photo TN

“At first, we had no idea what was happening. My daughter and I had just stepped into the veranda when she was struck by shrapnel. We immediately ran for cover,” said Safeer Awan, a lawyer whose house is located just metres from the mosque.

Refuting Indian claims of militant presence in the area, he added, “If there had been any terrorists around this mosque, would a school be operating right next to it? This is nothing but baseless propaganda by the Modi regime.”

Muhammad Ali, 26, a shoe store employee living about 200 metres from the mosque, said: “I was scrolling on my phone when the lights suddenly went out. Then came a deafening explosion. At first, we thought a transformer had blown, but then a series of blasts followed. It was terrifying.”

After a lull in attacks, he and his friends fled the area on a motorbike without headlights and spent the night in his village.

A man shows broken window panes/TN

“When we returned at dawn, the police and army had cordoned off the area,” he added.

Bilal Nasrullah, 21, a worker at a nearby dairy farm, recalled: “The missiles lit up the night sky one after another. People were running for their lives. We hid under a cluster of dense trees until the shelling stopped. My family, who live nearby, were also shaken.”

Muzaffarabad Deputy Commissioner Mudasser Farooq said many residents had been evacuated from Shawai overnight and returned home by the afternoon.

“If any new threat emerges, we are ready to respond,” he said. 

He identified the deceased mosque caretaker as Yaqoob from Nagdar village in Neelum Valley, who was buried near Bilal Mosque after funeral prayers at AJK University’s Chehla campus. The other victims—Waqas Nasim from Abbaspur and Hassan from Rawalakot—were buried in their respective hometowns following funeral prayers in Muzaffarabad and Rawalakot.

In Kotli, missiles struck Masjid-e-Abbas in the densely populated Roli neighbourhood, but no casualties were reported as the mosque was unoccupied at the time. However, a missile hit a nearby three-storey house, killing 19-year-old Misbah Kausar and her 12-year-old brother Umar on the second floor. On the first floor, 35-year-old Nusrat Parveen and her 12-year-old son Muhammad were injured, according to Kotli Deputy Commissioner Nasir Rafique.

Deaths at LoC

Apart from the losses from missile strikes, several other fatalities and injuries were caused by intense and indiscriminate shelling along the LoC, officials said.

In Forward Kahuta, the district headquarters of Haveli, mortar shells struck two semi-detached houses, killing Muhammad Amin Butt and Raj Muhammad. The former’s wife Hafiza, daughter Shabnam, sister-in-law Razia Nazir, and niece Kiran were injured. In Keirni village, another resident, Fakharuddin, sustained critical injuries.

In Poonch district, Maqsood Sakhi, 45, and Ishtiaq Zameer, 35, were killed in Kharanj and Ghambir Bala villages of Hajira subdivision. A 7-year-old boy, Irtiza Abbas, son of an army officer posted in Poonch, was also martyred in the same subdivision.

Apart from that, six others, including a woman and a young boy, were injured in Hajira and neighbouring Abbaspur.

In the Khuiratta area of Kotli, 26-year-old Sidra Qamar was killed by shelling while sweeping the veranda of her home in Ghora Sial village. The house was left riddled with holes.

In Panjkot area of Muzaffarabad, a man and a woman were injured in separate incidents of shelling.

DC Farooq also informed that the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project (NJHP) had suffered damage to its hydraulic power unit (HPU), forcing the closure of a gate. An ambulance belonging to the project was also hit.

On Wednesday, all educational institutions remained closed, while markets were open but subdued.

A view of CMH Road on Wednesday/TN

Despite an invisible fear, many residents remained defiant.

“We are Muslims—we believe our time of death is written,” said Adil Hameed, an electronics dealer in Madina Market. “So why live in fear?”

Late in the afternoon, the government ordered that all educational institutions—both public and private—would remain closed until further orders.

Emergency Response Centre

 

A high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq decided to establish the Central Emergency Response Centre, which will operate 24/7 with divisional commissioners, DIGs, DCs, and SSPs as members. The centre was tasked to report directly to the prime minister on evolving threats. 

The meeting also approved the establishment of Emergency Health and Information Response Centres to work in full coordination with the central unit. 

Prime Minister Haq instructed authorities to ensure immediate medical assistance for the injured and full support to the families of the deceased. 

He also ordered the availability of essential supplies and directed officials to resolve staff and medicine shortages in health facilities within 24 hours. 

The Central Response Centre was also assigned to collect data on livestock and property losses and initiate concrete relief and rehabilitation measures.

Ends