India-Pakistan tensions: Nearly 10,000 residents moved to relief camps from five border districts in Jammu, evacuation underway

India-Pakistan tensions: Around eight to 10,000 resident from at least five border districts in Jammu region have been relocated to relief shelters in wake of the heavy cross-border shelling by Pakistan which has killed 18 civilians, and injured nearly 60 on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir over the past few days.

“Eight to ten thousand border residents have been evacuated from the Rajouri-Poonch belt,” Jammu and Kashmir Minister Satish Sharma, who visited relief camps in Jammu, Rajouri, and Samba districts to take stock of arrangements and reassure displaced families, said Friday, according to news agency PTI.

Sharma revealed that evacuation is still underway, while assuring the adequate food and medical facilities are being provided to displaced residents at shelter camps.

Pak shells border villages after Operation Sindoor

Pakistan has resorted to heavy artillery shelling across the LoC and International Border, amid heightened India-Pakistan tensions since India conducted missile strikes deep inside the enemy country and PoK under Operation Sindoor, in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, in which terrorists killed 26 civilians in cold blood, most of them Indian Hindu tourists, in Kashmir valley.

The cross-border shelling has caused extensive damage to lives and property in Poonch, Mankote, Mendhar, Nowshera, Akhnoor, R S Pura, Arnia, Samba, and Kathua, and several other areas bordering Pakistan.

Officials said people living along the LoC in Poonch, Mankote, Mendhar, Nowshera, Laam, Balakote, Sunderbani, Akhnoor, and along the International Border in Garkhal-Khour, Marh, R S Pura, Arnia, Samba, Hiranagar, and Kathua, are being evacuated.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who also visited shelter camps in Mishriwala, Nagbani, Bishnah, and Thandi Khui, condemned Pakistan’s unprovoked aggression, saying “India reserves the right to defend its people and territory with full strength.”

Abdullah urged officials in border district to stay alert and responsive, and ensure all needs of those relocated to relief shelters are promptly met.

(With PTI inputs)

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