Poonch — A heart-wrenching tragedy unfolded on May 7 in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir when 12-year-old twins, Zain Ali and Urwa Fatima, were killed in cross-border shelling by Pakistani forces. The children, students of Christ School, were caught in the attack just as they were preparing to flee the area with their family amidst the escalating tension along the Line of Control (LoC), reported the Newsminute.
At the Government Medical College and Hospital, their mother Urusa Khan lay in a state of trauma, unable to speak or eat, overwhelmed by the sudden and horrific loss. The children’s father, Rameez Khan, also sustained serious injuries from shell splinters and remains hospitalized, unaware of his children’s demise. He has been told they are staying with their grandparents — a fragile truth shielding him from heartbreak, at least temporarily.
The attack happened early in the morning. Around 1:15 am, Zain and Urwa had made a call to relatives, scared by the ongoing shelling and pleading to be rescued. Just hours later, when a relative arrived, the family was packed and ready to evacuate. As they stepped outside their home near Christ School, a shell exploded nearby. Urwa died on the spot, and Zain, found severely wounded a few houses away, succumbed to his injuries shortly after.
Maria Khan, Urusa’s sister, recounted the horror of that morning, relaying details from her devastated sibling. “Urwa held her mother’s hand until the blast tore through. Zain was thrown far away. Both were gone within minutes,” she said, her voice choked with grief.
While the children’s last rites were performed in Poonch on the same day, their father was later found bleeding and rushed to the hospital. The couple remains admitted, cared for by Maria and her husband Sohail, who are now appealing to the government for improved facilities in border areas — trauma care, functional bunkers, and swift medical aid.
“Lives are in God’s hands,” said Sohail, “but the government can at least attempt to ensure safety in these vulnerable zones.”
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah visited the grieving family on May 8, while Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri addressed the tragedy during a briefing, noting the children were victims of a Pakistani shell that hit their home.
Maria, grappling with the immense loss, reflected on the bond the twins shared: “Urwa was born five minutes before Zain. She died five minutes before him too.”
As the ceasefire news emerged, Sohail responded with pain and anger, “This is a relief, but at what cost? Our loss is forever.”
