Kashmir: divided by borders, united in fear according to India-Pakistan conflict

Kashmir: divided by borders, united in fear according to India-Pakistan conflict

Mohammad Iqbal worked in a night shift in a power plant when he received a desperate call from his family. Artillery shot exploded around her home.

"I told them that they should gather together in a room on the ground floor, and hopefully the situation would calm down until morning," he said CNN.

intensive conflict between India and Pakistan

But the dawn did not bring any relaxation; This continued for four days, while India and Pakistan fought in their most intense conflict for decades, which fueled fears from a war.

IQBAL, 47 years old, lives near the city of Poonch in the Indian Kashmir, only a stone's throw from the de facto border to Pakistan. This region is characterized by forested hills and flowering meadows, in the background there are majestic, ice -covered peaks.

But the idyll is deceptive - cashmere is one of the most militarized regions in the world and is the trigger for several wars between India and Pakistan, both of which claim the area for themselves, but only partially check.

ceasefire and uncertainty

Last week, the nuclear weapons of nuclear weapons exchanged rockets, drones and artillery bullets for four days after a massacre of tourists in the Indian -managed cashmere, which accused New Delhi to the neighbor, but the Pakistan led to the fight.

Two hours after the start of the shot last Wednesday, IQBAL received the news that his brother -in -law's house was hit.

The grenade had exploded on a water reservoir, smashed windows and hurled broken glass, which hit his brother -in -law and his niece.

A hectic struggle followed to take the injured to the next hospital. "When people evacuated, some were in the village with cars, so that people flocked to every vehicle they could find," reported Iqbal.

"It was difficult to find everyone for a few hours. People were separated. But finally we met our family again in the hospital."

There he found his brother -in -law, who works as a police officer, critically injured, while the medical staff fought with the rush of the injured. IQBAL's brother -in -law survived. But two neighbors did not survive.

The consequences for the population

Pakistan announced on Tuesday that 40 civilians were killed and 121 injured and that 11 members of the armed forces were killed. India, on the other hand, had previously reported and announced that five soldiers had fallen and announced about 15 civilians and 59 injuries killed.

For the approximately 15 million people who live in the controversial region, the recent escalation of violence seems to be a political solution further away than ever. The immediate concern on both sides of Kashmir is how long the sky will remain calm.

fear of night

"There is a uncomfortable calm here," said Amir Choudhary, 25 years old, from the city of Akhnoor in the Indian -managed cashmere, a few hours after the ceasefire came into force. "The markets are open again and some people who had left are slowly coming back."

"However, the fear of what could happen at night remains," he added. On the other side of the control line, in Pakistanically managed cashmere, Saima Ashraf shared these feelings. "There is still uncertainty," she said. "Many believe that this ceasefire is not a permanent solution."

Others are unsure when they can return to their houses and villages. "Many are waiting to see how the situation develops before making a decision on their return," Akhtar Ayoub, an official of the local administration in Pakistani Neelum-Valley, told Reuters.

Raja Shoukat Iqbal, who lives near the de facto border, described the ceasefire as "essential for people in Kashmir" because they pay a high price on both sides of the conflict. "This peace is also necessary at the international level, since both countries are nuclear powers. Any mistake or anger from a country could result in the death of two billion people," he said.

The history of the conflict in Kashmir

Kashmir has been a stove of a crisis since 1947 when British-India hastily shared in two countries. The result was the emergence of two nations: the Hindu -shaped India and the Muslim Pakistan. Millions of people suddenly found themselves on the "wrong" side of the new border, which led to hectic and bloody mass migration, which broke apart the communities.

Kashmir, a Muslim state with a Hindu monarch, was in a unique location. Pakistan claimed the area during the Prince India. Both Pakistan and India, two nations taken by passionate nationalism, believe that Muslim -shaped cashmere is an integral part of its countries.

For Pakistan, which was founded as a home for the Muslims of South Asia, Kashmir's division is seen as a serious historical injustice. The country's mighty military is headed by General Asim Munir, who is known for his tough course opposite India. Weeks before the latest conflict, he described Kashmir as "the carotid artery Pakistan" towards the media.

India has long accused Pakistan to finance terrorist groups in Kashmir, an accusation that Islamabad rejects. Pakistan, on the other hand, tries to present the cause of violence in the region as a result of New Dehli's alleged “oppression”.

The pressure on both sides

The Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi drives an uncompromising attitude towards the controversial country. In 2019, his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) divided the former state into two Union territories, which gave the government in Neu-Delhi greater control over the Muslim region.

India and Pakistan both claimed a victory from their latest conflict. Neu-Delhi claims that his attacks in the Pakistanical territory-the deepest since one of its wars in 1971-had neutralized terrorist camps that were used for attacks on India, including the massacre to tourists in the past month that triggered the conflict.

Pakistan claims that his Air Force shot five Indian fighter jets, including advanced French Rafale fighter planes. On Monday, in his first statements since the fights began, Modi said that India "only exposed our retrieval attack on Pakistan's terrorist and military centers". "We will measure every step in Pakistan in the coming days," he said.

life in uncertainty

People have been living under the threat of shelling and attacks on the Indian and Pakistani side of the border for a long time. A student from Uri in the Indian -managed cashmere reported CNN that he was awake last week while shot noise shook his home. "We sat in silence, extremely scared," he said. "We prayed that the next goal is not our family or our home."

The student, whose name cannot be mentioned for security reasons, described the joyful moment when he heard the news about the ceasefire. "A smile spread over our faces and we hugged," he said. "We hope that this ceasefire remains. Both countries have to find long -term solutions."

IQBAL, the worker in the power plant, tried to remain optimistic despite the damage suffered. "We are lucky," he said. "We just have to rebuild our houses and our family is together. I hope that it will not be fighting again. But there is no guarantee for this."