“War does not feel far away here,” says Hajji Mohammed Hussain as he picks up the remains of his roof which was destroyed the night before by a mortar shell. Hajji Mohammed’s house is located in the Poonch district of Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Several homes have been damaged by shelling in the crossfire between India and Pakistan. Mohammed Riaza, a neighbour holds up a piece of shrapnel, “This is an Indian mortar shell,” he says.
Kashmir is one of the most bitterly disputed territories in the world. The conflict between Indian and Pakistan over the border region has escalated in the last few months following a suicide bombing. In February, an Indian-born Kashmiri drove a car full of explosives into an Indian paramilitary convoy killing 44 security personnel in Pulwama, a district of Indian administered Kashmir. This was followed by a series of tit-for-tat attacks between India and Pakistan. India launched an airstrike that it claims destroyed a terrorist camp, disputed by Pakistan; Pakistan hit back, capturing an Indian pilot.
"This is where my grandchildren sleep, imagine if they had been here at the time."
Civilians living near the “line of control” separating Indian and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir have been caught in the middle of the crossfire. Hajji guides me through what’s left of his home, in one of the remotest valleys in Kashmir. The walls of his bedroom are littered with bullet holes from sniper fire. He points to a bed that has been destroyed, “this is where my grandchildren sleep, imagine if they had been here at the time.”
