9 civilians killed, 38 injured as Pakistan resorts to heavy artillery fire after India’s Operation Sindoor

A significant increase in cross-border shelling by Pakistani troops resulted in at least nine civilian fatalities and 38 injuries in Jammu and Kashmir, officials reported on Wednesday, after India conducted missile strikes on terrorist positions in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Officials reported that one individual was killed in Mendhar, while six lost their lives in Poonch. Sources reported that two CRPF jawans were injured in the shelling in Poonch. They noted that the shell fell at a bus stop.

Intense shelling was observed in various areas along the border. Local sources reported that cross-border fire was occurring in Krishna Ghati, Shahpur, and Mankote in the Poonch district, along with Laam, Manjakote, and Gambeer Brahmana in Rajouri. Heavy artillery fire was likewise audible in the Uri and Tangdhar areas of the Kashmir Valley. A woman has been reported dead in Mankote, but officials have not yet verified her death.

The artillery fire came after an Indian military operation earlier that day, which aimed at nine terrorist locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. A declaration from India’s Defence Ministry indicated that the strikes, named “Operation Sindoor,” were “calibrated, precise, and non-escalatory,” and highlighted that no Pakistani military installations had been aimed at.

The intensifying conflict similarly disturbed civilian life throughout the area. Officials have mandated the shutdown of educational institutions in five border districts — Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Rajouri, and Poonch — due to security issues. Airports in cities near the Indo-Pak border, such as Jammu, Srinagar, and Leh, halted their operations. Air India suspended flights to and from multiple northern cities until at least noon on Wednesday, while other airlines released travel warnings and noted flight reroutes.

The Indian Army posted on social media that Pakistani forces had fired artillery in the Bhimber Gali sector, in what it described as another violation of a ceasefire agreement. The Indian Army, it said, was responding in a “calibrated manner”.