Jammu/ Pathankot: Seven people, including a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) of the Indian Army and a Border Security Force (BSF) sub-inspector, lost their lives, while several others were injured, following a series of drone strikes and mortar shelling by the Pakistani military early Saturday in India’s border regions.
The wave of attacks impacted multiple areas across Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and Rajasthan. Debris of unidentified aerial projectiles were found in several locations, and craters were formed in agricultural fields and residential zones, heightening concern among civilians and authorities alike.
BSF sub-inspector Mohammed Imteyaz was killed in the RS Pura sector of Jammu, where eight other personnel were also injured in heavy shelling along the International Border. They were shifted to a military medical facility for treatment.
In the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch, Subedar Major Pawan Kumar, a resident of Himachal Pradesh, was killed when an artillery shell exploded near his post, officials said.
Among the civilian casualties was two-year-old Aisha Noor and 35-year-old Mohd Shohib, both residents of Rajouri town, who were killed when shelling struck near an industrial zone. In another strike in the same district, Additional District Development Commissioner Raj Kumar Thapa succumbed to injuries after his official residence was hit. Two of his staff members also sustained serious injuries and were taken to the Government Medical College in Rajouri.
In Kanghra-Galhutta village in the Mendhar sector of Poonch, 55-year-old Rashida Bi died when a mortar shell hit her house. Meanwhile, in Bidipur Jatta village near RS Pura, a man identified as Ashok Kumar alias Shoki was killed in cross-border firing. Zakir Hussain, 45, was also killed in Bantalab on the outskirts of Jammu, after a mortar shell landed in Kheri Keran village. Two others, including a young girl, were injured in the same incident. A senior official in Jammu said, “There was sustained mortar and drone-based targeting across several regions, and we are still assessing the total extent of damage.”
Four civilians were injured in Jammu city’s Rehari and Roop Nagar localities after suspected drone payloads and artillery shells struck residential zones. The injured have been moved to nearby hospitals.
Strikes were reported across a broad swathe of Indian territory. Drone incursions targeted 26 locations stretching from Baramulla in Kashmir to Bhuj in Gujarat. Punjab’s Amritsar, Jalandhar, Pathankot, and Tarn Taran districts reported the discovery of debris and unexploded ordnance. In Gurdaspur’s Rajubela Chhichhran village, residents gathered around a large crater left by an early morning explosion.
“I heard a loud blast around 3 am and saw smoke rising from the fields,” said Jagdev Singh, a local farmer. “We have never seen anything like this before.”
In Phagwara district, a similar incident was reported when an unidentified object created a deep crater in a field between Khalyan and Sahni villages. Villagers described a sudden blast-like sound around 2.40 am. Officials later confirmed debris was found, and a migrant labourer was injured in a related incident in Kanganiwal village of Jalandhar.
The situation prompted precautionary measures across several states. Markets in Pathankot and border areas of Rajasthan’s Barmer and Jaisalmer remained shut. In Pathankot, air raid sirens were activated and authorities asked residents to stay indoors. Similar alerts were sounded in Amritsar, Ferozepur and Hoshiarpur.
Drone debris was found at multiple sites in Rajasthan’s Barmer and Jaisalmer districts after Indian defence systems intercepted the incoming UAVs. A senior police officer from Punjab said, “We are urging the public not to touch any debris or suspicious objects and report them immediately to the nearest police station.”
In Haryana’s Sirsa, residents reported hearing distant explosion-like sounds shortly after midnight, although no damage was reported.
India shares a 3,323 km-long border with Pakistan, spanning the International Border, Line of Control (LoC), and the Actual Ground Position Line in the Siachen region.