Kashmir’s Quiet Struggle Amid India-Pakistan Border Clashes

As darkness descended, the distant hills on the Pakistani side of Kashmir were dotted with faint white lights—homes nestled along the slopes. Behind us, on the Indian side, the town also glimmered softly.

My companion remained optimistic. “Lights are always a reassuring sign,” he remarked. “It usually means the night will pass without incident.”

However, just as we began our meal, a call echoed from a nearby mosque advising residents, especially those near the border, to stay indoors.

Almost simultaneously, the lights on both sides of the border flickered off, plunging the valley into darkness. Though the announcement seemed routine, locals understood its grim implication.

The shelling was imminent.

Having spent much of my career reporting on unrest in Kashmir, I was concluding a trip along the Line of Control and anticipated staying with my longtime friend Irshad Khwaja and his family in Garkote, a village under Indian administration.

The previous day, early Wednesday, tensions between India and Pakistan escalated into a military confrontation, unfolding as two simultaneous conflicts along the border.