Villagers look on as Pakistani shells from across the border land in Poonch.
Over 100 heavy mortar shells have landed in Jammu and Kashmir's border village Balakote since Saturday afternoon. This was the first time since the 2003 ceasefire agreement that Pakistan has used heavy shells -- 120 mm - which explains the high civilian casualties, army sources told NDTV.
Since Saturday, six people have died and nine have been injured - the highest single-day casualty in a long time.
Among the dead was Karamatullah Khan - the head of the Balakote village - who was trying to evacuate villagers to safety. A 17-year-old who tried to save him died too. The shell had landed on the car which was carrying a group of villagers.
"There was very heavy shelling from Pakistan - one shell hit the vehicle in which the sarpanch and six others were travelling," Rasheed Ahmad, one of the injured from Balakote village, had told NDTV.
Indian forces have been retaliating. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said, "We are giving them (Pakistan) a befitting reply. Our response is double-triple (in intensity)," he said.
But unlike in other border areas, the government has not constructed underground bunkers in Poonch -- the locals say this is why they have become sitting ducks for shelling from across the border.
Among yesterday's casualties were a 12-year-old child and a 40-year-old woman.
Three villages -- Shahpur, Mandhar and Kerni -- bore the brunt of the shelling, but the administration has asked people of all border villages to stay indoors. The administration has ruled out evacuating people till the shelling stops.
The ceasefire violations began in Poonch and Rajouri sectors yesterday even as Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif sent his greetings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Independence Day and called for amicable relations between the two countries.