Srinagar, May 14: Twin siblings Zoya and Zain, both 12 years old, were killed in Pakistani shelling last week in Poonch district. Their father, 48-year-old Rameez Khan, sustained critical injuries and is currently undergoing treatment in the ICU at a hospital in Jammu, while their mother, Urusa Khan, suffered minor injuries.
The incident occurred around 6:30 a.m. on May 10 when shells fired by Pakistani forces landed near Christ School in Poonch, a civilian area where the family had been living in a rented home.
Mushtaq Ahmad, the uncle of twin siblings Zoya and Zain said the tragedy has left the family shattered. Both were studying at Christ in Class 5, he said.
“It is the biggest trauma for our family. They were twins, inseparable, and their loss has devastated everyone,” Mushtaq told Rising Kashmir.
The twins had celebrated their 12th birthday just last month. Their father, Rameez Khan, a library assistant working in Poonch had recently shifted the family from their ancestral village of Kalaani Chakthru to Mandi area of Poonch district in search of better educational opportunities for the children.
The family had been living in Poonch for only two months when the shelling occurred.
Mushtaq recounted that just 15–20 minutes before the incident, Rameez had called him and expressed concern about the shelling.
“Rameez said that his Children were terrified by the sounds and told them he would take them to Surankote for safety. He was packing his luggage into the car when the shell landed directly on the house. Both children died on the spot, and Rameez was seriously injured,” Mushtaq said
Initially mistaking the shelling for a routine mock drill, the family had not anticipated the scale of devastation.
“We have not witnessed such intense cross-border shelling in the past 70 years. For us, it felt like war,” Mushtaq added.
According to the family, the shelling continued for several hours, severely delaying medical evacuation. We were terrified. It took hours to transport Rameez first to Rajouri and then to Jammu. The delay worsened his condition, Mushtaq said.
“Within 30 minutes of the attack, relatives found Rameez bleeding profusely. He was rushed to the district hospital in Poonch before being referred to Rajouri and later to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMC) Jammu, where he remains in the Intensive Care Unit. His wife, Urusa Khan, is also injured and is under observation,” he said.
Meanwhile children’s funeral prayers were performed on the same day in the presence of their mother. They were buried in front of their ancestral house in Kalaani Chakthru village of the district,” he said.
Mushtaq said Urusa is in a state of deep shock, unable to eat or speak properly since the incident.
Dr Sarfaraz Mir, a close relative who is accompanying Rameez in Jammu, said his condition remains critical. He was in the ICU and was monitored by doctors here.
“We are planning to shift him to New Delhi for advanced treatment. He keeps asking for his children, unaware they are gone. We fear that telling him the truth could trigger a heart attack,” Mir said.
Since May 7, several people – including security personnel – have been killed and dozens injured in heavy shelling and drone strikes from Pakistan, following India’s launch of Operation Sindoor.
The operation targeted nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) in retaliation to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives, mostly tourists.
An uneasy calm hung over the Line of Control on Sunday night, particularly in the heavily-targeted border districts of Poonch and Rajouri, after India and Pakistan agreed to halt all firing and military operations on land, air or sea with immediate effect.
