'It’s a Huge Tragedy': In Visit to Poonch, Rahul Gandhi Meets Families Bereaved in Pak Artillery Shelling

Srinagar: Cutting across religious divides, Leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi on Saturday (24 May) reached out to the people who were affected in the artillery shelling from across the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).

“It’s a huge tragedy,” Gandhi said after winding up his visit to the worst affected border district of J&K, “Many people have lost their lives and properties. Civilians were directly targeted. People have asked me to raise two to three issues at the national level, so I will do it.”

The visit to Poonch was marked by the Congress leader’s choice of the venues for his public interaction which included Christ School, a Christian missionary school, Jamia Zia-ul-Aloom, an Islamic seminary, Gurdwara Singh Sabha and Geeta Bhawan, home of a Hindu temple.

Throughout the visit, Gandhi steered clear of making any political statements about the aftermath of Operation Sindoor which caused widespread death and destruction in Poonch district due to retaliatory attacks by Pakistan.

Gandhi meets relatives of deceased twins

Early on Saturday morning, the Congress leader was received at the Jammu airport by J&K minister and senior National Conference leader Javed Rana after which he flew to Poonch to meet the family of 13-year-old twin siblings Zain and Zoya who were killed in the shelling.

The media was not allowed inside the rental accommodation of the bereaved family where Gandhi is believed to have met the relatives of the deceased twins, students of Class 5 at Christ School in Poonch, who were killed in the wee hours of May 7 when artillery shells fired by Pakistan targeted their house.

A source said that one of the uncles who retrieved the twins in a badly injured state from the damaged house after the bombing narrated the happenings of the ill-fated May 7 morning to the Congress leader who was “overwhelmed by emotions”. The twins died before reaching the hospital.

“He shared the grief of the family and expressed solidarity with them,” said the source, adding that the Congress leader also inquired about the condition of the parents of the siblings.

Rameez Khan, father of the twins, was critically injured in the shelling and he is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Jammu.

The Congress leader also inspected a building adjacent to the house of the siblings which also suffered extensive damage during the shelling.

Earlier, Gandhi had criticised Union external affairs minister S. Jaishankar for informing Pakistan about the missile strikes on terrorist bases under ‘Operation Sindoor’ while the border residents of J&K were not intimated, a move that could have minimised the loss of lives.

Later, Gandhi drove to the twins’ school where he was greeted by enthusiastic students and staff who clapped and shook hands with the Congress leader as he made his way towards the school compound where he briefly interacted with some students.

In an atmosphere charged by emotions, Father Shijo CMI, principal of Christ School, briefed Gandhi about the happenings in the school after the death of its two students. Gandhi told the staff and students that they were caught in a “frightening situation” in the aftermath of the ‘Operation Sindoor’ during which India carried out missile strikes across the Line of Control in Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan in the intervening night of May 6 and 7.

'Don’t worry. Everything will come back to normal'

“But don’t worry. Everything will come back to normal,” Gandhi assured the staff and students, “Your way of responding to this problem should be that you study really hard, you play really hard and you make a lot of friends in school”.

The Congress leader also interacted with some classmates of the deceased siblings, “You lost your good friends,” Gandhi said to one of the students who was standing next to him with a mic in his hand, “I am very sorry about that. Tell me what were they like ... what were their likings ... which sport they played?”

“He used to study really hard and he played cricket with everyone,” the student replied, referring to Zain, one of the deceased twins, “He was an allrounder.”

Later, Gandhi visited Jamia Zia-ul-Aloom, one of J&K’s largest Islamic seminaries in Poonch where he met the affected students and staff who were caught in the shelling on the ill-fated morning of May 10. The seminary was also damaged in cross border shelling.

Qari Mohammad Iqbal, a teacher at the seminary, was killed while arranging meals for the students on the ill-fated morning. Gandhi condemned the misinformation spread about Iqbal who was falsely described by some TV channels as a “terrorist commander” while expressing solidarity with the students and staff.

The Congress leader later visited the Gurdwara Singh Sabha where he met the members of the Sikh community who lost five members in the cross border shelling. According to one estimate, around 61 structures have suffered extensive damage by shelling in Poonch city but the slow pace of relief and rehabilitation efforts by J&K administration have angered the affected families.

Hundreds of houses and commercial buildings have been damaged across the district due to cross border shelling.

“In the name of compensation, the government is offering lollipops. There should be an honest assessment of damages and proper verification of repair costs. If the government can’t protect us, we will rather rebuild our houses in Jammu instead of living under constant fear here,” Surjan Singh, a resident of Poonch. said.

Asked about the interaction of the Sikh community with Gandhi, Singh, who lost his nephew in the shelling, said: "He listened to us patiently and promised to raise our issues in New Delhi.”

After meeting the Sikh community, Gandhi, who was accompanied by All India Congress Committee Shahnawaz Choudhary, J&K Pradesh Congress Committee president Tariq Karra and other party leaders paid obeisance at a Hindu temple in Geeta Bhawan of Poonch which was also damaged in cross border shelling. Later, he flew back to Jammu.

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