Why border villages were not evacuated in time: TMC leader on Poonch deaths

Trinamool Congress leader Sagarika Ghose on Thursday condoled the deaths of civilians in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch in firing from across the LoC and questioned why border villages were not evacuated in time. "Shocking and terrible tragedy in Poonch. The killing of innocent civilians in Poonch and border areas by Pakistani artillery deserves strongest possible condemnation," Ghose said in a post on X. "Qs to Modi government: while we had mock drills across India with a mixed response, why didn't we ensure that all border villages were evacuated well in time? Every life matters," she said. "Those civilians living on the border deserve all our attention and empathy. Just because TV cameras don't reach there, doesn't mean their plight must not be highlighted. Prayers for the bereaved families in Poonch," the Rajya Sabha MP said, with the hashtag "PoonchIsBleeding".

The Pakistan Army has been resorting to heavy shelling in several sectors along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, prompting an effective response from the Indian Army, officials said. The intensity of Pakistani shelling has increased following India's military strikes on nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) early on Wednesday. Pakistan's ceasefire violations along the LoC have claimed the lives of 13 civilians in Poonch sector and injured 59 people, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday. Of the injured, 44 are from Poonch, the MEA's external publicity division said.