Residents living in the border areas and the Line of Control in J&K are caught between the stand-off between India and Pakistan post-Pahalgam terror attack
Gulshad Khan lives in the Balakote area of Poonch, just a few kilometres away from the Line of Control (LoC). Since April 22, when four terrorists attacked tourists in Pahalgam, and Indians and Pakistani troops exchanged small arms fire, Indians living in J&K라이브 바카라 border areas and those living along the LoC are on edge.
Khan and his family are readying themselves for worse times. “We have started cleaning our bunkers. Although there is no firing on this side, we still don’t know what is going to happen. There is this talk of war and we are fearful,” said Khan whose house is less than six kilometres from the LoC.
Residents of the area are afraid that the current standoff between the two countries could escalate into a full-scale war. On April 28, 2025, Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told the media that India could launch an attack on Pakistan anytime, and that the neighbouring country was on a state of high alert.
According to Army officials, an intermittent exchange of small arms fire was witnessed along both the international border and the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.
An Army spokesperson said that an intermittent exchange of gunfire was reported in the border belts of Jammu as well as in the North Kashmir area of Kupwara. During the night of April 28-29, 2025, army officials say that Pakistan라이브 바카라 forces allegedly resorted to small arms firing across the Line of Control in areas opposite Kupwara and Baramulla districts, as well as the Akhnoor sector. Indian Army responded in a measured and effective manner,” the Army said in a statement the next day, April 29, 2025.
The residents along the LoC in Poonch and Uri areas are used to living on the knife라이브 바카라 edge, but this will the first time in 25 years that a war cry has gone out. The last time there was this much tension between the nations since the 2019 Pulwana attack. They are afraid that their areas could see the use of heavy artillery by the Pakistani troops.
“The area has been relatively peaceful after the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, but now we fear that it could see similar action like the one that was witnessed in 2019 after the Pulwama attack,” says Khan.
The looming threat of war has caused them to begin preparations. Mohammad Hanief, a resident of Uri, said that the people there have cleaned the bunkers because of the looming threat of war between India and Pakistan. “Not all the people here have bunkers, but those who have them, they are cleaning them so that these underground facilities could save them from impact of heavy shelling,” he said. In 2019, several families had to migrate to the main town Uri because of heavy exchange of mortar fire between Indian and Pakistan.
According to Jammu and Kashmir Police, three terrorists of Lashkare Taiba (LeT) outfit were those behind the attacks on tourists. The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the banned Pakistan-based LeT outfit, has, however, denied any role in the attack.