Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah visited the Pakistani shelling-affected area in Kupwara on Tuesday.
Heavy cross-border shelling by Pakistan had caused damage to homes and religious sites in J-K’s Kupwara, Uri, and Poonch. Locals vowed to stand with the Indian army despite the attacks.
Meanwhile, after India and Pakistan came to an understanding on the cessation of hostilities, life is slowly returning to normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir.
However, local residents of a border village in the Samba district feared the Pakistan army after blasts were heard on Monday night and splinters hit one of the houses.
The roof and kitchen of the affected house have been damaged after shelling by Pakistan.
Dalbeer Singh, a local, said that there was constant fear due to shelling by Pakistan.
“We were clueless last night, but we heard noises. We saw in the morning that this had happened. However, there is not much damage. We were all at home when the explosion happened. The police came later and took stock of the situation. There is an environment of fear,” Singh said.
Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the forces had been given full freedom to wipe out terrorists.
In his address to the Nation, PM Modi said, “Every terror organisation now knows ‘ki hamari behano, betiyon ke maathe se Sindoor hatane ka anjaam kya hota hai.”
PM Modi said Indian Air Force, Army Navy, Border Security Force and India’s paramilitary forces are constantly on alert.
“After the surgical strike and air strike, now Operation Sindoor is India’s policy against terrorism. Operation Sindoor has carved out a new benchmark in our fight against terrorism and has set up a new parameter and new normal,” he said.
“First, If there is a terrorist attack on India, a fitting reply will be given. We will give a befitting response on our terms only. We will take strict action at every place from where the roots of terrorism emerge.
Secondly, India will not tolerate any nuclear blackmail. India will strike precisely and decisively at the terrorist hideouts developing under the cover of nuclear blackmail,” he added.
PM Modi said India will not differentiate between the government sponsoring terrorism and the masterminds of terrorism.
Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7 to strike multiple terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir in retaliation for a deadly attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22 in which 26 tourists were killed.
In addition to eliminating over 100 terrorists, the strikes targeted 11 Air bases inside Pakistan and inflicted significant damage on their military capabilities. The air, land and sea operations were carried out with calibrated restraint, with an emphasis on minimising civilian casualties. (ANI)
