Jammu: Rameez Khan, 48, was critically injured on 7 May 2025 when Pakistani shells tore through his home across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K): he is now fighting for his life in the intensive care unit of the Government Medical College here.
Khan, a laboratory assistant in a school, did not know that the shells killed his children, and that his wife, Urusa Khan, 34, who was sitting on the floor next to her husband’s bed in the ICU, had already laid them to rest in their father's village, Chandak in the J&K border district of Poonch.
After India struck Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir early on 7 May, two weeks after terrorists killed 26 mostly Hindu tourists in Kashmir, Pakistan started artillery barrages at border villages along the de facto border, the LoC.
Khan’s children, 12-year-old twins Zain Ali and Urwah Fatima, known at home as Ayan and Zoya, were struck at around 6:30 am by a shell near the house their family recently rented in Poonch city, 9 km from Chandak.
When Article 14 visited the Government Medical College on Monday, 12 May, Urusa Khan was too distressed to talk to us.
Urusa Khan's younger sister, Maria Khan, said that when Khan inquired about their children, Urusa stifled her tears and responded, “They are doing well. They are staying at their nani’s (maternal grandmother) house.”
When Khan asked if he could video call with his children, Urusa Khan cited vague excuses, such as a poor Internet connection.
“My brother-in-law doesn’t know that his children are dead,” said Maria. “We have to act normal in front of him.”
Condolences have poured in from across the nation for the grieving family.
‘The Twins Shared A Close Bond’
Zoya and Ayan, who celebrated their 12th birthday on 25 April, joined Christ School in Poonch two months prior. The family rented a house in Poonch city to be closer to the school so they would not have to travel an hour by bus from Chandak village.
Maria said the twins were very close. They would spend Eid and summer vacations at their grandmother's house in Surankote, a village in Poonch.
“The twins shared a close bond. They always stayed together. They wouldn't fight much but would always tease each other,” said Maria. “They were separated for the first time when they got allotted different sections in class 5. Zoya wanted her section to be changed so that they could stay together.”
Their mother, Urusa, had filed an application to the school requesting that they allot the same section to the twins.
Maria's husband, Sohail Khan, said they were the "most polite kids" in their family.
Maria said that during the last days of the month, Ayan sometimes asked his father for a treat.
If money was tight, Zoya would tell her brother, "Why do you keep pushing? You know, dad's salary hasn't arrived, so why do you keep bothering him? He'll get us a treat once his salary comes."
Tearing up, Maria said that occasionally, the twins would break open their gulak (a clay piggy bank) and present their savings to their father, telling him to hold onto it until he was paid his salary.
Maria broke down mid-sentence. Sohail consoled her. Maria was close to the children and helped her sister raise them.
Maria said that their father was so fond of them that he could not bring himself to discipline them, leaving Urusa to take on the role of the strict parent.
Urusa often said, “You always make me scold them while you step away.”
When asked how we should remember them, Sohail said, “They were mischievous yet calm and sensible. We would often say they are an example for the whole family.”
‘Our Lives Matter’
At least 21 Indian civilians reportedly lost their lives in the four days of military action between India and Pakistan, while five members of the Indian armed forces were also killed between 7 and 10 May.
Among the dead were a 46-year-old cleric, a shopkeeper from Poonch, a 45-year-old Kashmiri woman from Uri, two migrants from Bihar, a retired serviceman and a member of the J&K administration. They were Muslim, Hindu and Sikh.
The dead included five children, including two-year-old Aisha Noor, seven-year-old Maryam Khatoon, and 13-year-old Vihaan Bhargav.
In his 22-minute address to the nation on 13 May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Pakistan attacked India—“targeting our schools and colleges, gurudwaras, temples and civilian homes, and even our military installations”, but he did not mention the civilian deaths in J&K.
Nasir Khuehami, the national convenor of the J&K Students Association, posted, “Our lives matter.”
“It is deeply disheartening that in the Hon'ble Prime Minister's 22-minute address, there was not a single word about the innocent lives lost in Poonch, Rajouri, and Uri. Not a single mention of the grief-stricken families whose homes were reduced to rubble by relentless shelling, artillery, and mortar fire along the Line of Control,” Khuehami wrote in his post.
“Over 15 coffins were lowered into the ground including that of a 12-year-old child, yet there was no word of condolence, no acknowledgement, no empathy. Are the lives on the border invisible? Do the cries from Poonch, Rajouri, and Uri not reach the corridors of power?” wrote Khuehami.
‘We Have Lost Them. What Can We Do Now?’
The twins’ aunt, Maria, recounted what happened on 7 May.
When artillery barrages began near the LoC, 10 km from Poonch town, the children called their uncle, Adil, their mother’s brother, who arrived to collect them at six in the morning on 7 May.
A shell hit the rear of the house as the family stepped outside with their bags packed. Zoya took a direct hit and was killed instantly. Ayan was nowhere to be found.
As Urusa looked for him in houses nearby, a neighbour was trying to resuscitate him. They thought he might be dead already, but they picked him up and put him in the car.
“We tried to bring him back to life, but nothing was to be done anymore,” said Maria.
It took another 10 minutes to look for Rameez, whose liver and ribs were punctured by the shells, and he had lost a lot of blood. When they reached the nearest hospital in Poonch, the children were pronounced dead.
Maria said that her sister Urusa, who was also struck in the leg by a shell and is caring for her husband, has gone without food and sleep for several days and has lost nearly 10 kg.
Sohail said that elders in his family who had seen wars would never wish it upon anyone.
“We have lost them. What can we do now? People who haven’t even met our kids are grieving for them. It is painful for the whole nation,” he said. “Our elders who have seen war would never wish it upon anyone else.”
Maria picked up food for her sister and signalled to Sohail to go back inside to her sister and brother-in-law in the ICU with food.
Four-Day Conflict
The Resistance Front (TRF), thought to be an offshoot of the Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba, initially claimed responsibility for the attack, before backtracking on the claim.
The J&K Police on 23 April released sketches of three of the four terrorists—identified by the police as Ali Bhai alias Talha (from Pakistani), Asif Fauji (from Pakistan), Adil Hussain Thoker (a resident of Anantnag) and Ahsan (a resident of Pulwama)—who carried out the attack in Pahalgam.
Pakistan, too, claimed several civilian casualties—36 at the last count.
The conflict between the two nations escalated on 8 May, with India claiming its air defences had stopped Pakistani drone and missile attacks, while Pakistan said it shot down drones from India overnight.
The Indian armed forces said they had severely damaged 11 Pakistani airbases and killed over 100 terrorists in Pakistan during the military operation.
India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire to stop firing and military action on Saturday, but accused each other of violating the deal within hours.
United States President Donald Trump was the first to announce the ceasefire on Saturday evening on his social media platform, Truth Social.
“After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a full and immediate cease-fire,” he said. “Congratulations to both countries on using common sense and great intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Both Pakistan and India confirmed the ceasefire soon after.
In another post, Trump later said, “I am proud that the USA was able to help you arrive at this historic and heroic decision” and that he would “increase trade substantially” with both nations.
‘None Of Our Business’
In his statement confirming the ceasefire, India’s foreign secretary, Vikram Misri, said, “The Director General of Military Operations of Pakistan called the Director General of Military Operations of India, and it was agreed between them that both sides would stop all firing and military action”.
India’s long-standing position on Kashmir is that it is an integral part of the country’s territory, and India would not accept any third-party mediation in the matter.
"Obviously, it would not be welcome by the Indian side,” Shyam Saran, a former Indian foreign secretary, told the BBC. “It goes against our stated position for many years."
Member of Parliament and chairman of the committee on external affairs, Shashi Tharoor, said that Trump could not claim "credit for mediation” as India would not have “accepted foreign mediation in a conflict that we are perfectly capable of handling ourselves.”
Trump’s claims of brokering the peace deal came just days after his vice-president, J D Vance, said that the US would not intervene in the conflict, calling it “fundamentally none of our business”.
In his speech to the nation on Monday, 13 May, Prime Minister Modi said that “after suffering heavy losses, Pakistan's army contacted our DGMO on the afternoon of 10th May.”
He also reiterated India’s “stated policy” on Kashmir and talks with Pakistan. “If there are talks with Pakistan, it will be only on terrorism; and if there are talks with Pakistan, it will be only on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,” said Modi.
Foreign secretary Misri, said in a statement on the same day the ceasefire was announced, “Over the last few hours, there have been repeated violations of the understanding arrived at” and that the Indian armed forces had “been given instructions to deal strongly with any instances of repetition of the violations of the International Border as well as the Line of Control”.
Pakistan's military spokesman, during a press conference, said, "No violation is being made by the Pakistan army or armed forces of the ceasefire."
Indian media reports claimed (here, here and here) that Pakistani drones were spotted in Indian territory after the ceasefire was announced on Saturday night and then on Monday night.
(Ayushi Malik is an independent Journalist based in J&K.)
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