Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday arrived in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district to meet the families of those killed during the recent cross-border shelling earlier this month. This is the second visit by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha to the Union Territory since the dastardly April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack that claimed 26 lives.
Rahul Gandhi had earlier visited the state on April 25, immediately after the terror attack, to check on the injured. During his visit, he also met the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, and several stakeholders.
On Saturday morning, the Congress leader arrived at Jammu airport and later left for Poonch in a helicopter to visit the areas affected by the intense cross-border shelling and meet the affected families.
The Poonch sector was witness to heightened artillery and mortar shelling after India carried out precise strikes under Operation Sindoor on nine terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7 in response to the dastardly Pahalgam massacre.
A wave of artillery shelling, missiles, and drone strikes by Pakistan killed 28 people, 13 in Poonch district alone, and injured more than 70 between May 7 and 10 across Jammu and Kashmir. India and Pakistan reached a ceasefire understanding on May 10 to end the military border escalation after four days of cross-border shelling and drone attacks.
On Saturday, the Congress’ Jammu and Kashmir unit president, Tariq Hameed Karra, said, “Rahul Gandhi will visit shell-hit structures, including a Gurdwara, a temple, a madrassa, and a Christian missionary school. He will also meet the bereaved families and the members of civil society. “Gandhi is the first national leader to reach out to the affected population to express his solidarity and share their pain,” he said.
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