Rahul Gandhi Meets Victims In Poonch, Condemns Pakistan Shelling In Jammu And Kashmir

Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, travelled to the Poonch area of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday to meet with families impacted by Pakistan's recent cross-border shelling. This is his second visit to the area since the Pahalgam terror assault on April 22, which killed 26 people, the majority of whom were tourists.

Gandhi described the shelling by Pakistan as a "major tragedy," claiming that many people had died and that a great deal of damage had been done. He claimed to have heard the complaints of the impacted families, who begged him to bring the issue up nationally, a promise he promised to keep.

"It was a big tragedy and many people have lost their lives. There has been huge damage. I spoke with the people and tried to understand their problems. They have requested me to raise this issue on the national level and I will do that," Gandhi said during the visit.

While in Poonch, the Congress MP also interacted with local school children, offering words of encouragement and urging them to stay focused on their education. "Don't worry, everything will come back to normal. Your way of responding to this problem should be that you study really hard, you play really hard, and you make lots of friends in school," he told them.

Gandhi also paid a visit to Shri Guru Singh Sabha, a Gurudwara in Poonch that sustained damage due to the cross-border shelling. His visit served as a gesture of solidarity with the local community.

This trip comes nearly a month after Gandhi's earlier visit to the region in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack. At that time, he had emphasized that the attack was aimed at sowing division among the people and called for greater national unity to defeat terrorism.

Congress national general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir had earlier announced Gandhi's visit, stating, "Rahul Gandhi is visiting Poonch to meet the families affected by Pakistani shelling. He wants to extend solidarity with the bereaved families."

The Poonch sector experienced heavy shelling about two weeks ago amid escalating tensions with Pakistan. This escalation followed India's targeted strikes on May 7 under Operation Sindoor, which dismantled nine terror hubs across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Among the key targets were the headquarters of the proscribed groups Jaish-e-Mohammed in Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Muridke.

In retaliation to Operation Sindoor, Pakistan launched a series of artillery, drone, and missile attacks on Indian territory, particularly in the Jammu region. The barrage, which occurred between May 8 and 10, resulted in the deaths of 27 people and left more than 70 others injured, with Poonch bearing the brunt of the assault.

(With inputs from PTI)