On the night of October 26 and the following morning, mortar shells fired by Pakistan army from across the border hit residential areas in Arnia and RS Pura sectors along the international border, 30 km away from Jammu.
The sudden shelling triggered panic among residents of Trewa village, which shares a 5 km border with Pakistan. It was second such incident over the past ten days. On October 17, two BSF personnel were injured in firing by Pakistan Rangers, officials said.
Trewa village is known for its agricultural produce, mainly basmati rice. With the latest shelling, farmers are afraid to venture into their paddy fields, thus putting their livelihoods at risk. With Pakistan violating the ceasefire again, in the middle of the harvest season, the villagers are staring into an uncertain future.
Village sarpanch Balbir Kaur told The Wire that she hopes the government will help the farmers revive their losses. “The farmers work day and night for six months. The shelling could not have come at a worse time. But we will cover 50% of the harvest cost as a goodwill gesture for alleviating the suffering of farmers,” The Wire quoted Kaur.
The villagers have started cleaning up dozens of underground bunkers unused since 2021 when New Delhi and Islamabad agreed to uphold the ceasefire agreement. “We can take refuge here if the shelling begins. Pakistan can’t be trusted. If they do it once, they will do it again,” said Kaur.
“Our farms and houses are not safe. If there is a flag meeting between the armies (of India and Pakistan), we can hope the situation will calm down,” a local villager told The Wire over the phone.
The cross-border shelling coincided with back-to-back militant attacks in the Valley.
On October 31, a policeman was shot dead outside his house in Baramulla district. Though a severely injured head constable Ghulam Mohammad Dar, a resident of Kralpora in Pattan area, was rushed to a hospital, he could not be saved.
On October 30, a labourer from Uttar Pradesh was shot dead in Pulwama district by terrorists.
On October 29, a policeman named Masroor Ahmad Wani was shot at point-blank range at the Eidgah ground in downtown Srinagar while playing cricket.
