Poonch Shelling - Day Two
I am from Poonch; my family still lives there. This is what I know as of 4:00 pm on May 9.
Read Poonch Shelling - Day One for context.
On the 8th of May, at 9:30 am, my mom calls. She says some elders in the family are refusing to leave Poonch. "me kya karoon? Akeli nikal jaaun?" She wants to get to Jammu, to safety.
This is the story of her journey.
May 7: Prelude
Shelling devastates the city of Poonch on the morning of the 7th. It stops at 12:00 pm. 15 dead, 50 injured.
My uncle switches on the news to see how the world has reacted. They haven't. He asks why? No one has answers. We look for local sources for news. A video shows a local news reporter – he turns on his selfie camera. A shell hits a house and a stream of blood gushes out. He keeps reporting as shells fall in the background. He pleads: "Please leave the city. Please leave Poonch."
Thousands leave. The road from Poonch to Surankote, a town 20 kilometers towards Jammu, is full of people - on foot, on bikes, in cars, trucks, or anything they could find. People do not want to spend the night in Poonch.
Throughout the evening, my family contemplates leaving Poonch. But they have shops, houses, friends. The discussion gets heated. They don’t want to leave everything behind. My uncle cleans his double‑barrel rifle.
My sister and I are looking for cabs to get our mom to safety. But everyone who could leave Poonch has already left. Poonch is a ghost town. Cabs are impossible to find. The day ends.
May 8: The Journey
I wake up at 7:00 am. I get the news that nothing happened between 12:00 and 7:00 am. The family groups have no new messages. Relief.
At 9:30 am, my mom calls. She says some elders in the family are refusing to leave Poonch. "me kya karoon? Akeli nikal jaaun?"
The family sits together at 10:00 am. They make a decision to leave. Next challenge is to find a cab. They convince a driver, who even with his family and children at home, decides to help.
Destination — Jammu. Departure time – 3:00 pm. Estimated arrival – 11:00 pm. Distance – 260 km.

The dark red line is the International Border, hereafter IB. The dotted line to the left of it is the Line of Control, the de facto border, hereafter the border. They have to go from the red circle to the green one. The pinkish line connecting the two is the way.
If they encounter shelling on the way, we have 4 possible shelters - Friends and family live in Surankote (20 km), Rajouri (80 km), Naushera (120 km), Sundarbani (150 km).
At 3:00 pm they leave Poonch. My cousin is in the car. She shares her location with me. She shares videos. I can see relief on their faces. Bright sunshine. No shelling or gunfire in the background. Our dog is jumping from lap to lap.
At 4:00 pm they cross Surankote. Now they are out of the range of direct shelling.
At 6:00 pm, they cross Rajouri.
At 7:30 pm they cross Naushera. At 8:10, I check the location again. Same as 40 minutes ago. I call. They are having food. My cousin says they are out of danger, they are taking a break. They notice a moving red light in the sky. They ignore it.
At 8:11 pm, I receive a message from my sister in Jammu, "Bomb Bomb Siren".
I look on Twitter. Drones are flying over Jammu city. Swarms of red lights in the sky. Complete blackout in the city. Sirens everywhere. Gunfire. Artillery fire. This has NEVER happened in Jammu before.
My sister: "Loud bombs, University area, we are in the basement." She continues, "I have asked mom to reach Sundarbani and take shelter."
My family gets back in the car and moves towards Sundarbani, 30 kilometers away. Army stops them and asks them to head back. They decide to go back to Naushera. My mom was a teacher for 10 years, and her colleague, who is now a Principal in Naushera, gives them shelter for the night. They are on the first floor of a three‑story school building. Panicked, they contemplate going back to Poonch, where, at least, they have a home.
At 9:00 pm, I call my sister, but she doesn’t pick up. Army has jammed the phone networks. People are unable to receive calls. WhatsApp still works, so I get in touch. Red lights continue to rule the sky. Some people call them drones, some missiles, some planes. Constant booms and sirens.
Some say the defence airport is under attack, some say it's the university and some say the cantonment. People see red lights in Sundarbani, Naushera, Akhnoor (closest point to IB) and Pathankot. Heavy shelling in all the border areas near Jammu. All these areas on high alert with complete blackout.
At 11:00 pm, I call my mom. No shelling in Naushera area. No drone activity. Complete silence. They are safe. They are still thinking about going back to Poonch. Not for long.
May 9: Poonch, a city that was
By 12:00 am, my relatives in Poonch tell me that shelling has started at the border. They say - windows are shaking but nothing in the city yet. Not as bad as yesterday.
That changes at 12:06 am. A relative who is in Poonch messages in the group "Shelling in the city now."
All hell breaks loose.
Here are the messages we receive from different people.
00:59
A lot more than yesterday. Main chowk, restaurants, schools, everything hit. A shell has fallen right next to your house. Shops near your house are destroyed. Residents saying, aaj Poonch city nahi bachega.
01:08
Rockets are hitting us. A lot of them.
01:15
They are saying it has hit your school - Christ School. Thank God, your family has left Poonch.
01:33
I'm scared. I don't know if I will make it to sunrise.
03:09
Sab khatam ho gaya idhar. Praying and praying. Will leave tomorrow. Rockets hain, sirf shells nahi.
03:16
Bombs are hitting our veranda. 4–5 have hit the bazaar. Old Poonch, villages, city, everything hit.
04:44
Missiles are hitting us. Poonch khatam hai.
04:51
City khatam ho gayi hai. Bahut buri halat hai. Kam se kam 500 bombs.
A tweet by someone on the ground sums up everything
Poonch was a city
Sunrise
In Poonch, the shelling stops at first light, around 5:00 am. All the friends and family in Poonch make it to the sunrise. Terrified, shook, but alive.
In Jammu, the first blackout ends at 11:00 pm. People go back to their rooms. At 04:35 am, they hear another siren. Another blackout. They move to the basements. They hear a couple of booms. This does not last long. They go back to their rooms after an hour. Final blackout for the night. Sunrise.
My family leaves Naushera at 8:00 am and reach Jammu at 11:00 am. The rest of the journey is uneventful. Here is our dog after the journey, as exhausted as its humans.

What now?
The journey that should have taken 8 hours took 20, but everyone made it. We have no idea if a shell hit our house, or our store. We don't know if any of our friends got hit. We don't know if anyone died in the city. We don't know if the situation will get better. Or, when it will get better. My family left Poonch to find safety in Jammu. How safe will Jammu be tonight, we don't know.
My mom says it doesn't matter. I think the same.
Visuals
Local News Report
A local news report from Poonch, showing the destruction from last night.
Destroyed Houses
Shelter
People taking shelter in the district hospital. Taken by a relative who is a first responder at the hospital.
