A week after escaping artillery fire from across the border, Rina Begum returned to her devastated home in Kashmir. The walls were cracked, the roof crumbling, and glass shards were scattered across the floor, mingling with the ashes of her daughter’s books. She described the experience as hell raining down from the looming mountains.
Begum lives in a hamlet near Uri, a town 60 miles north-west of Srinagar, the capital of Indian-administered Kashmir. The hamlet is perilously close to the line of control, the heavily militarised de facto border dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan.
Tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours escalated into open military confrontation after a militant attack on 22 April killed 25 tourists and a local guide in Pahalgam. India accused Pakistan of having “linkages” to the attack, without publicly presenting evidence. Pakistan denied any involvement.
Artillery fire erupted across the disputed frontier, with Begum witnessing the most intense skirmish to date. She managed to escape to a nearby town with her husband and six-year-old daughter.
India and Pakistan have fought over Kashmir since gaining independence in 1947, each claiming the entire Himalayan region but controlling only parts of it. The circumstances leading to the confrontation remain unchanged.
When the fighting stopped, both India and Pakistan claimed victory, but in Kashmir, fear lingers. Bewum and her family returned reluctantly to rebuild their village.
Bewum expressed her prayer for a lasting calm. “But these countries will never coexist peacefully unless their issues are resolved. It’s only a matter of time before we’re caught in their war again.”
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/18/i-pray-this-calm-lasts-fear-lingers-in-kashmir-amid-uneasy-peace
