May 13, 2025
By Mubashir Chaudhry
MUZAFFARABAD
Despite the ceasefire brokered between Pakistan and India by the United States on May 10, tensions remain high amidst sporadic shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir. In Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), one Hafiz Shahid was reportedly killed in Nakyal tehsil due to cross-border firing by Indian forces, while four children including a 40-day-old girl identified as Fatima, and her mother were killed in Kotli.
Indian and Pakistani troops along the LoC have continuously exchanged fire since April 22, when five militants killed 26 civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam hill station. As of the filing of this report, 31 civilians in AJK have been killed while 123 injuries have been reported. A further 34 houses have been destroyed, while 1,136 families have been affected by shelling from the Indian side.
Tahira Toqeer, president of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front’s (JKLF) Women Wing, said that Pakistan and India have fought six wars over Kashmir, and while each time both countries reach a ceasefire agreement, hostilities along the LoC never really end.
“There has never been a ceasefire along this unfortunate border dividing our Kashmir. Sometimes there’s a couple of shots, other times it’s excessive firing. We see shelling, we see missiles,” she says. “This may be the first time the current generation in Pakistan and India will know what fired shells smell like, but our children have grown up with these smells and sounds. Four generations of us have grown up in the midst of firing.”
Toqeer adds that ceasefire agreements only apply to international borders while the disputed LoC boundary remains a hot zone for hostilities throughout.
Local journalist Imnaz Khan said that civilians continue to be martyred and life in Kashmir remains paralyzed even after the ceasefire agreement.
“Nakyal came under heavy shelling the same night as the ceasefire was brokered, in which a citizen lost his life,” he explained. “Despite even America having to mediate, Indian forces continue to target residents along the LoC.”
Khizar Hayat, a social activist based in AJK, said that Kashmiris have been living in a continuous war for the past 78 years, and asserted that a ceasefire alone will not resolve the Kashmir issue.
Kashmiris have demanded that the government ensure a ceasefire on the LoC as well, while the United Nations and the international community should also prevent India from violating it.