Pakistan Continues Shelling Along LoC After Op Sindoor; Jawan Killed
For the 14th straight day, Pakistan intensified cross-border shelling along the LoC, killing an Indian jawan in Kupwara after India’s surgical strikes on terror camps under Operation Sindoor.
Pakistani forces escalated hostilities on Thursday, targeting forward villages in Kupwara, Baramulla, Uri, and Akhnoor using artillery fire and mortar rounds, according to defence officials.
One soldier, identified as Dinesh Kumar from the 5 Field Regiment, was killed during the overnight shelling in Karnah. Civilian areas were also struck, but no civilian casualties were reported from this latest round.
“The Indian Army has responded strongly and proportionately, targeting Pakistani positions responsible for the provocation,” a senior army officer posted in North Kashmir said
The flare-up follows India’s pre-dawn precision strikes under Operation Sindoor, which targeted nine terror infrastructure hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK).
The strikes destroyed assets linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and Hizbul Mujahideen in locations including Bahawalpur, Muridke, and Kotli.
Officials described the strikes as “pinpoint” and “strategic”, meant to neutralize militant launchpads following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives.
Late Wednesday night, Pakistani shelling hit residential areas in Karnah, forcing hundreds to flee to safer locations. Many civilians had already vacated the area earlier in the day after initial shelling.
Tuesday night’s shelling was especially deadly. “We lost 15 civilians in a single night in Poonch. Mortars landed right in the middle of the market,” a local official said. At least 43 others were injured in the Poonch and Tangdhar sectors.
Visuals from the LoC and International Border showed extensive damage—flattened homes, shattered windows, and debris-strewn villages.
In retaliation, Indian forces pounded Pakistani positions across the Kupwara and Rajouri-Poonch sectors. Defence sources said the Army inflicted “significant damage” on Pakistani installations, with unverified reports of high enemy casualties.
“A prolonged pattern of escalation suggests Islamabad’s strategy to internationalize Kashmir. India, however, is calibrated in its response, targeting terror infrastructure only,” said Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain.
Operation Sindoor was launched in response to the Pahalgam massacre, one of the deadliest terror attacks on Indian soil in recent years. The surgical strikes were seen as a firm signal of India’s zero-tolerance approach to cross-border terrorism.
