Watch: Jammu residents sweep bunkers clean amid rising tensions with Pakistan after Pahalgam attack

Pahalgam Terror Attack: Living under the constant threat of renewed hostilities, villagers residing near the International Border (IB) and Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu are once again bracing for the worst. In the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and subsequent escalation between India and Pakistan, residents have begun clearing underground bunkers and preparing for any potential flare-up.

Thousands of underground safe shelters have been built by the government over the years to protect civilians from cross-border firing. Although ceasefire violations have remained relatively low since 2021, the aftermath of the recent Pahalgam attack has sparked fresh safety concerns among border dwellers.

A video posted on social media platform X shows residents in Jammu sweeping and cleaning community bunkers, taking precautionary steps in case tensions escalate further.

India shares a 3,323-kilometre-long border with Pakistan, of which 221 km of the International Border (IB) and 744 km of the Line of Control (LoC) fall in Jammu and Kashmir. For the villagers living along these volatile stretches, the fear of cross-border shelling remains a grim reality.

The terror attack on tourists in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam hill resort on April 22 left 26 people dead, mostly tourists, sparking nationwide outrage. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reacting strongly to the attack, said, “the killers would be pursued to the ends of the earth” and promised to “identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backers.”

In view of cross-border linkages to the attack, the Indian government on Wednesday announced a series of punitive measures. These include the suspension of the 65-year-old Indus Waters Treaty, the closure of the Attari land-border crossing, and the expulsion of Pakistani military attaches. New Delhi also directed that all Pakistani nationals who entered via the Attari land border must leave by May 1.

In response, Pakistan on Thursday announced it was shutting its airspace to all Indian airlines and suspending trade with India, including trade routed through third countries. Pakistan also rejected India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, warning that any measures to stop the flow of Pakistan’s share of the water would be treated as an “act of war.”

As diplomatic ties continue to worsen, the residents along the Jammu border quietly ready themselves, living in hope and fear that peace will hold but preparing for the possibility that it may not.