Bahawalpur, Pakistan — Residents of Bahawalpur in Pakistan’s Punjab province are reeling after alleged Indian airstrikes struck their city early Wednesday morning. The attacks reportedly targeted several locations, including mosques, resulting in the deaths of at least 31 civilians and injuring dozens more.
The strikes come in the wake of a deadly attack on tourists in Pahalgam in the Indian-controlled Kashmir, which India claims was orchestrated by militants from Pakistan. Pakistan denies involvement in the Pahalgam incident and has reportedly shot down five Indian fighter jets during the clashes.
Local inhabitants shared harrowing accounts of the chaos. “India’s attack was on the civilian population instead of their claimed terrorist organizations,” said Khalilur Rehman, a resident of Bahawalpur. “They made such a brutal act to target innocent children and holy mosques,” added Javed Akhtar, another local.
The community is grappling with the aftermath as they mourn the loss of lives and the destruction of significant religious sites. International observers are expressing concern over the escalating tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
Calls for restraint and dialogue are growing louder as the region watches anxiously. The hope is that peaceful solutions can be found to prevent further loss and hardship for the people caught in the crossfire.
