Cracked Open

Post the India-Pakistan ceasefire, a fragile hush hangs heavy over Kashmir's border towns

- Ishfaq Naseem

RANJEET Singh died just outside the gate of his home in Poonch on May 7. He was helping neighbours flee as mortar shells rained down from across the Line of Control (LoC). Balbir Singh, 51, watched smoke curl over the street. When he stepped outside, he found his brother lying in a pool of blood. “It was like a stream of blood was flowing. My brother died instantly after he was hit by shrapnel from a mortar,” Balbir says quietly. For years, they ran the family cosmetics shop, attached to the house.

For nearly ten days since May 7, their modest home has been a steady stop for mourners; friends, neighbours and strangers coming to say goodbye to Ranjeet.

On May 8, the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that across Jammu and Kashmir, at least 16 people had died while over 59 others were injured in the shelling from the other side of the border and the LoC by Pakistani troops. While a semblance of normalcy has returned to the areas close to the LoC, residents remain fearful that the guns and mortars could blaze again, snatching their loved ones.

Barely two days after Ranjeet Singh died, a barrage of mortars landed in the Chowkibal area of North Kashmir’s Kupwara. Twenty-nine-year-old Ishfaq Ahmad Khan fled the area with his family soon after the shelling started. Late that night, they travelled to Srinagar as mortar shells continued to pound several areas. The next day, his phone started ringing; one of his neighbours told him that the mortar shells fired by Pakistani troops from across the LoC had damaged his house, causing the roof to collapse. The walls of the house have been extensively damaged, while a few windows have also splintered.

Six days after the shelling in the area, the women in the household were clearing up the debris while a vehicle packed with luggage, including some bedding, stood in readiness in the wide driveway. The family fears they may have to flee again if shelling continues from across the LoC.