Pakistan assembly speaker to attend upcoming Gaza conference in Turkiye

GINGAL: Mohammad Younis Khan was among 40 residents seeking shelter in a cowshed when shelling began in Gingal, a scenic mountain village in north Kashmir on the Indian-administered side of the de facto border with Pakistan. Men, women and children sought refuge in the 3-meter-by-4.2 meter (10-feet-by-14 feet) space, which they felt offered greater safety than their brick and cement homes.

Huddled together, they heard the swoosh and thunder of the projectiles being fired from both sides of the border. When they heard a very loud sound from just outside the shelter, they held their breath and expected the worst. But the projectile had landed on soft earth and detonated a couple of feet below the ground sparing them.

Younis, who could tell the outgoing projectiles from the incoming ones by the sound they made, described the impact outside “as if a lightning bolt had struck the ground.” They all feared that India and Pakistan were at war and they would not survive the night.

“We were so scared that we didn’t dare go out to a water tap just four feet away from the door even when the children were crying of thirst,” Younis told The Associated Press.

Mohammad Shafi and four family members were having dinner in their kitchen when they heard explosions and ran outside. They had just managed to reach the road when they saw a blast damage the kitchen they had been dining in. They ran down a slope and hid among trees.

It was the night of May 8, and the shelling had intensified from the previous evening. Nasreena Begum rushed out, leaving her special-needs son behind as he was too heavy to be carried. She was tormented but was relieved to find him safe at home the following morning.

Most residents left Gingal for the town of Baramulla about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south, where some saw their homes destroyed on TV or social media.

Naseer Ahmad, a Jammu & Kashmir police officer posted in south Kashmir, learned via Facebook that shelling damaged his Paranpillan home, instantly recognizable by the surprisingly intact large walnut tree beside it.

Following the May 10 ceasefire, residents of Gingal returned to assess the damage, finding their homes riddled with shrapnel. Those with intact or livable houses sheltered neighbors who had lost theirs.

About 160 kilometers (100 miles) south, the usually bustling tourist spot of Pahalgam is now quiet, its residents facing a different challenge. It was here when, on April 22, militants killed 26 tourists in the worst assault in years targeting civilians in the restive region.

Pahalgam, usually lively with May holidaymakers, is now deserted. Businesses are shuttered and tourist attractions within a 30-kilometer (18-mile) radius of the assault site are closed to locals and visitors alike.

Back in Gingal, Younis prays for peace.

“Where will we go if the clashes continue? Drones can reach anywhere,” he said. “Those who want war have never experienced it.”

ISLAMABAD: Britain is working with the United States (US) to ensure a ceasefire between India and Pakistan endures and that “confidence-building measures” and dialogue take place between the nuclear-armed neighbors, Foreign Minister David Lammy said on Saturday.

The nuclear-armed South Asian arch rivals agreed on May 10 to a ceasefire, brokered by the US, in their worst fighting in nearly three decades, which followed a deadly attack on tourists that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad. Pakistan denies involvement.

Last week’s hostilities between Pakistan and India raised alarm among world powers about a full-blown war in South Asia. Britain was among several countries that called for restraint, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying the UK was “urgently engaging” with both sides.

“We will continue to work with the United States to ensure that we get an enduring ceasefire, to ensure that dialogue is happening and to work through with Pakistan and India how we can get to confidence and confidence-building measures between the two sides,” Lammy told Reuters in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad at the end of a two-day visit.

Asked about India’s suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, potentially squeezing Pakistan’s water supply, Lammy said: “We would urge all sides to meet their treaty obligations.”

India announced suspending the 1960 World Bank-brokered treaty, which ensures water for 80 percent of Pakistani farms, a day after the April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 tourists.

Pakistan has said Britain and other countries, in addition to the United States, played a major role in de-escalating the fighting. Diplomats and analysts say the ceasefire remains fragile.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed his desire for peace in South Asia despite a recent military standoff with India, Sharif’s office said on Saturday, following his meeting with Foreign Secretary Lammy.

“The UK Foreign Secretary congratulated the Prime Minister on the ceasefire understanding and said the UK would continue to play a constructive role for promotion of peace and stability in the region,” Sharif’s office said.

Fighting erupted last week when India launched strikes on what it said were “terrorist camps” in Pakistan following a deadly April attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people. New Delhi accused Islamabad of backing the militants behind the assault, an allegation Pakistan denies.

Four days of drone, missile and artillery exchanges followed, killing around 70 people, including dozens of civilians, on both sides of the border. The conflict raised fears of a broader war before a ceasefire was announced by US President Donald Trump.

This was Lammy’s first official visit to Pakistan, which came just days after one of the most serious military confrontations between Pakistan and India in decades.

The visit underscored the “robust and multifaceted partnership” between the two nations and their commitment to regional and international peace, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said.

With input from Reuters