Life limping back to normalcy along LoC as ceasefire holds

SRINAGAR — Life is slowly limping back to normal in border areas of Kashmir, as no firing was reported from any sector along the Line of Control (LoC) for the first time in over a fortnight on Sunday.

India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire on Saturday evening, bringing an end to days of intense cross-border shelling that had forced thousands of residents to flee to safer areas.

Several villages along the LoC in Baramulla and Kupwara districts bore the maximum brunt.

Officials confirmed that there were no reports of ceasefire violations along the 350-kilometre-long LoC in the Kashmir region, which passes through the districts of Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipora.

In Uri, residents have begun returning to their homes and shops in the main town.

“After four days, the market has opened up here. While peace has returned, people are still scared. Hopefully, this calm continues,” said Irshad Ahmed, a resident of Uri who had migrated to Baramulla town three days ago due to the shelling.

He said several houses were damaged, and life has changed during the past fortnight of violence.

Another resident, Manzoor Ahmed from Gingal, said children suffered the worst psychological trauma during the hostilities.

“When the shelling started soon after the Pahalgam attack on April 22, we thought it might end in a day or two. But what followed was the heaviest shelling in decades. Our children were shivering in fear. We had to shift them to relatives’ houses in Baramulla and Srinagar. They will never forget this trauma,” he said.

Manzoor emphasised that border residents bear the brunt whenever tensions flare between India and Pakistan.

“This peace should not be temporary, but permanent. Only we, the border residents, truly understand what an escalation means,” he added.

In Uri alone, one woman died and over 15 people were injured during last week’s shelling. Some villages were severely affected, with several homes destroyed.

Elsewhere along the LoC, daily life is also gradually returning to normal.

India and Pakistan had exchanged heavy fire since the April 22 attack in Pahalgam that left 25 tourists and a local dead. The shelling intensified after India launched attacks at multiple locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).