SRINAGAR, May 8: In a major escalation of hostilities along the Line of Control (LoC), 15 individuals—including a soldier and four children—were killed and over 56 others injured in heavy artillery and mortar shelling by the Pakistan Army, Indian defence authorities reported on Thursday.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Defence, “During the night of May 7-8, the Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked fire using small arms and artillery guns across the LoC in areas opposite Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri, and Akhnoor in Jammu & Kashmir.” The Indian Army responded proportionately, the statement added.
The Indian Army’s White Knight Corps confirmed the death of Lance Naik Dinesh Kumar of the 5 Field Regiment during the shelling. “We salute the supreme sacrifice of L/Nk Dinesh Kumar and stand in solidarity with all victims of the targeted attacks on innocent civilians in Poonch Sector,” the Corps said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Civilian areas bore the brunt of the bombardment, with a school and a Gurudwara struck in Poonch, triggering widespread panic. District hospitals in Poonch and Baramulla are flooded with the injured, while the Government Medical College in Jammu is handling cases requiring specialised treatment.
As a precautionary measure, the J&K administration has shut down all educational institutions in affected districts, including Jammu, Poonch, Rajouri, Samba, Kathua, Baramulla, Kupwara, and Gurez. The Indian Air Force has assumed control of Srinagar airport, suspending all civilian flights until May 10.
The shelling comes a day after India launched “Operation Sindoor,” a series of coordinated precision airstrikes on nine terrorist sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The Indian government said the targets were infrastructure used by terror outfits such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, and not Pakistani military installations.
Pakistan has condemned the airstrikes as an “act of war” and resorted to heavy shelling along the Line of Control, resulting in 15 casualties. However, the international community has expressed deep concern over the escalating conflict, with the United Nations, the US, the UK, and other countries urging both sides to de-escalate immediately.
