Two students were killed and their parents severely injured on May 7, when Pakistani shells struck a residential area behind Christ School in Poonch district, Jammu and Kashmir, as per reports by Bishop Ivan Pereira of Jammu. By the same afternoon however, relative calm had returned to the area as shelling ceased.
“Between 6 and 7 a.m. today, a shell fired from Pakistan landed just behind Christ School in Poonch, hitting the home of two students of the school,” Bishop Pereira told Catholic Connect News. “Tragically, both students lost their lives, and their parents were severely injured.”
Fr. George CMI, a priest at Christ School, confirmed, “There has been no firing since midday. Two priests remain on the school campus, while the others, including priests, sisters, and staff, have relocated to safer areas. Some residents of Poonch have also moved to Jammu for safety.”
During the intense shelling, several priests, nuns, school staff, and local residents took refuge in an underground hall beneath Christ School. A convent belonging to the Congregation of the Mother of Carmel (CMC), a Syro-Malabar Catholic religious congregation, also sustained damage when another shell destroyed water tanks and solar panel infrastructure.
“Fortunately, the school, which is run by the CMI congregation, was closed for holidays, which prevented casualties among students and staff,” Bishop Pereira added.
The situation had been compounded by a mobile network blackout and regional power outage that began around 2:30 a.m., disrupting communications throughout affected areas.
The latest round of shelling has claimed the lives of at least 10 civilians and left 33 injured in Poonch district. The injured have been transported to nearby hospitals as Pakistani forces continued firing mortars and artillery across the Line of Control (LoC).
Escalating Conflict Following Operation Sindoor
The violence follows India’s “Operation Sindoor,” launched early on Wednesday, May 7, when Indian Armed Forces conducted precision missile strikes targeting nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The operation was carried out in retaliation for the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 25 Indians and a Nepali citizen.
In response, Pakistan Army intensified shelling along the LoC, marking the 13th consecutive day of cross-border hostilities. Overall, at least 12 civilians have been killed and 51 others injured across four districts close to the LoC.
As a precautionary measure, authorities have ordered the closure of educational institutions across Jammu and Kashmir and evacuated residents from vulnerable areas. Additionally, 21 airports across northern India have been closed to passenger flights until May 10, and schools in border districts of Punjab and Rajasthan remain shut.
Despite the escalation in border areas, Bishop Pereira noted that Jammu city, located about 25 kilometres from the India-Pakistan border, “remains calm, with normal movement of people and vehicles.”
“While both Jammu and Srinagar remain largely calm for now, authorities have implemented precautionary measures,” he said. “We hope and pray that the situation stabilizes soon, and that peace is restored.”
India has maintained that its strikes targeted only terror infrastructure, with military officials stating the locations were selected to avoid civilian casualties. Pakistan has vowed to respond, “at a time and place of its own choosing,” while international leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, have called for restraint from both nuclear-armed nations.
