Shelling tragedy leaves Balakote in grip of fear

Amir Karim Tantray

Tribune News Service

Jammu, March 19

Scores of people visited Devta Sargloon village in Balakote sector on the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district to witness the horror that struck the house of Muhammad Ramzan on Sunday morning. All they witnessed was broken walls, collapsed roof and damaged utensils.

The mud house of Muhammad Ramzan was not constructed in a way that it could keep its inhabitants safe from mortar shelling. Five of the family were killed when a Pakistani shell landed on their house. The only survivors of the family, Nasreen Kouser (11) and Mahreen Kouser (5), are receiving treatment at Government Medical College (GMC), Jammu, after being airlifted from Rajouri.

A pall of gloom has descended on the entire Balakote sector in Mendhar tehsil of Poonch district and people are in fear.

“There has been no migration from the area but people are tense since the shelling killed five members of a family. The administration is providing every sort of help to the people living close to the LoC,” said Tariq Ahmad Zargar, Deputy Commissioner, Poonch.

After the incident, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today visited Poonch and met victims of border shelling. “Met with displaced families and victims of shelling in Poonch this afternoon. A stark reminder that our future doesn’t only depend on the conflicts that take place, but more so on the solutions we offer in response to them,” Mehbooba wrote on Twitter.