Our Bureau
Srinagar
Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition, visited Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district for the second time this Saturday. He was there to meet the victims of the cross-border firings and shelling by the Pakistani Military Forces. Poonch, being closer to the border, suffered the brunt of Pakistan’s artillery and mortar shelling when the conflict between the two nations was raging high.
The Congress leader in his visit to Poonch met the families of victims and promised them that he will raise their issues and problems at national level. He assured the people and the students in the area that soon things will go back to normal once again. He advised them to not be scared and respond by studying and playing hard.
He said, “Now, you have seen danger and a little bit of a frightening situation, but don’t worry, everything will come back to normal. Your way of responding to this problem should be that you study and play really hard and make a lot of friends in school.”
Mr. Gandhi took to his social media and posted a video in which he can be seen talking to the victims and locals in the district. He was also seen examining the damaged houses and consoling them and assuring them that he will raise the issue in front of the nation.
In the caption of his post, the opposition leader wrote, “Today I met the families of those who lost their lives in Pakistan shelling in Poonch. Broken houses, scattered belongings, moist eyes and painful stories of losing loved ones in every corner – these patriotic families bear the biggest burden of war with courage and dignity every time. Salute to their courage. I stand strongly with the victim families – I will definitely raise their demands and issues at the national level.”
India and Pakistan were on the cusp of a war as tensions raged high after the terrorist attack on Pahalgam where 26 innocent lives were taken away. India retaliated with Operation Sindoor in which the Indian armed forces successfully destroyed nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on 7th May.
After that there were a barrage of unsuccessful drone attacks by Pakistan as they were intercepted by the Indian Air Defence systems. The countries have since signed a ceasefire agreement and the tensions have settled down a bit.
