At least 10 civilians were killed in firing and shelling by the Pakistan Army along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district on Wednesday.

This came after India carried out strikes on what it said were terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.

Ajaz Ahmed Jan, the Poonch Haveli MLA, told Scroll that he visited the Poonch district hospital where nine of those killed were taken. “One of the civilians has been killed in a remote area whose body wasn’t brought to hospital,” he added.

Two among those killed were children.

Jan said that the shelling in Poonch began at about 3 am and had continued intermittently.

“A lot of army installations in Poonch are neighboured by local habitations,” he said. “That’s why there has been a high number of casualties.”

“The situation continues to be tense and the intensity of the shelling has increased,” added Jan.

Twenty-nine persons were injured as the militaries of both countries exchanged fire, reported AFP.

Manoj Sinha, the lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir, said that he has directed district administrations to shift villagers from vulnerable areas to safer locations and “ensuring boarding, lodging, food, medicare and transportation”.

Parts of Rajasthan along the international border with Pakistan were put on high alert, The Indian Express reported. Residents of border villages in Bikaner and Sri Ganganagar districts were asked to move to safer locations, the newspaper reported.

Schools were shut in Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Barmer and Sri Ganganagar districts on Wednesday. Leaves of government employees were cancelled in Bikaner and Sri Ganganagar districts.

On Wednesday, the Indian armed forces targeted nine sites as part of Operation Sindoor, said the defence ministry.

“Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature,” the ministry said. “No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and methods in Pakistan.”

“We are living up to the commitment that those responsible for the attack will be held accountable,” it added.

Following the strikes, several airports in the northern parts of the country were shut. No civil flights will be operated from the Srinagar Airport in Jammu and Kashmir, airport officials said.

Issuing a travel advisory on social media, SpiceJet said that airports in Dharamshala, Leh, Jammu, Srinagar and Amritsar were closed until further notice. “Departures, arrivals, and consequential flights may be impacted,” the airline said.

Air India too said that all its flights to and from Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Chandigarh and Rajkot remained cancelled till 12 noon on Wednesday pending further updates from authorities.

“Two international flights en route to Amritsar are being diverted to Delhi,” it added.

In addition, the Jammu and Kashmir government said that schools in the border areas of the Union Territory will remain closed on Wednesday.

After its strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the Indian Army’s additional directorate general of public information said that “justice is served”.

Pakistan acknowledged that India had carried out the strikes.

Ishaq Dar, the country’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, said on social media that the Indian Air Force “while remaining in Indian air space” had targeted sites across the international border in Muridke and Bahawalpur, and across the Line of Control in Kotli and Muzzafarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that Pakistani forces had “every right to respond forcefully” and that a “forceful response is being given”.

Twenty-six persons were killed in India’s strike, reported AFP. During a press conference earlier in the day, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry stated that at least 35 persons were injured, reported The Print.

The strikes primarily hit civilian infrastructure, including mosques and residential quarters, claimed Chaudhry.

The terror attack at the Baisaran area near Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam town on April 22 left 26 dead and 17 injured. The terrorists targeted tourists after asking their names to ascertain their religion, the police said. All but three of those killed were Hindu.

Also read: