Rahul Gandhi to foot education bill of 22 kids affected by Pak shelling

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will sponsor the education of 22 children who lost either one or both parents in the Pakistani shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district during during Indo-Pak conflict in May, a party leader informed.

While talking to mediapersons in Rajouri, J&K Congress chief Tari Hamid Karra stated that Gandhi had made the commitment during his visit to Poonch on May 24, where he met families affected by the shelling that occurred between May 7 and 10.

“Rahul Gandhi asked us to prepare a list of school-going children who lost their parents, especially breadwinners. We submitted a list of 22 children from Poonch district, and more may be added after further assessments,” Karra said.

In Poonch, Mohammad Akram, who was father of six, was killed in the Pak shelling on May 7. Gandhi during his visit to Poonch on May 24 had promised that he would raise their issues at the national level and urged the government to provide appropriate compensation to those whose homes were damaged during the shelling.

As per party leaders, the first instalment for the education of children will be released on Wednesday when Karra will be in the district along with other senior leaders.

Poonch district alone accounted for 13 civilian deaths among 28 fatalities in the Pakistani shelling and drone attacks in Jammu and Kashmir after the Indian armed forces carried out missile strikes on terror infrastructure across the border under Operation Sindoor in May in retaliation to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 persons, mostly tourists, dead.

J & K