Scores of families of the frontier district of Kupwara, which witnessed artillery shelling from Pakistan on Sunday, returned to their devastated villages on Monday and appealed to Pakistan and India to stop “unethical shelling in the times of COVID-19 outbreak.”
The single-storey semi-concrete house of Shameema Begum, 36, who died in the shelling, is partially damaged. Deceased Begum has left behind four children.
“Sunday saw a war-like situation in Chowkibal. This unethical shelling and firing is taking place when people are battling the deadly Coronavirus. We ran for cover without shoes. Even neighbouring villages did not provide us shelter due to fears of COVID-19,” said Ms. Begum's brother-in-law.
Three civilians, including an eight-year-old child, were killed in the shelling from Pakistan.
Begum's relative said the fleeing families from Chowkibal were even stopped from entering the Kupwara town by the police. “We were told Kupwara town is a Red Zone. No house in the neighbouring villages was willing to provide us shelter due to COVID-19 scare. Finally, we managed to reach relatives’ houses late in the evening,” he said. “Today, when we returned there were craters due to shells in compounds and houses damaged.”
Unusual heavy shelling
Locals said it was rare to witness such heavy shelling, targetting deep inside the civilians areas rather than the posts close to the Line of Control (LoC) in the Keran Sector.
Imtiyaz Ahmad Kataria, Saiba Bano, Faizan Ahmad Khan, Lal Din Chechi, Bashir Ahmad Kataria, all residents of Tumina village, and Ghulam Hassan Peer, a resident of Reddi village in Chowkibal, have suffered injuries. Nursing minor injuries, many of them returned to their villages in Chowkibal and Timana Vilgam to inspect the damage.
The single-storey house of Farooq Ahmad Kataria from Tumina was completely gutted in the shelling. “My car is now a skeleton. It caught fire in an explosion.”
The houses of Nazakat Ahmad Ahanger, Lal Hussain, Lal Din Sangoo, Khanam Jan, Mushtaq Ahmad Lone, Kabir Joo, Munir Joo, Ghulam Subhani, all residents of Patroo in the Keran Sector, were partially damaged.
“We appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan’s Imran Khan to intervene and stop shelling. We are already fighting the Allah's wrath in the shape of COVID-19. This is not time to leave people shelterless. Who will allow us to stay with them due to the COVID-19 outbreak?" said a woman from Chowkibal.
