Schools in Poonch reopened today after 13 days of closure due to intense India-Pakistan cross-border shelling, but only 16% of students showed up.
Parents remain fearful despite the ceasefire, with 23 schools damaged and four children killed in recent attacks. Officials are using WhatsApp groups to reassure families .
Schools in Poonch reopened on May 19 after a 13-day closure due to India-Pakistan border clashes, but only 16% of students attended amid lingering fear. The district, worst-hit by Pakistani shelling, saw 23 schools damaged and 4 children killed, including 12-year-old siblings Ayan and Zoya.
CEO Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah confirmed remote areas faced even lower turnout, with families still displaced. WhatsApp groups are being used to reassure parents, but many, like Zahoor Malik, refuse to send children back, calling the ceasefire “fragile.” The Army insists the truce holds, but night-time shelling memories haunt border villages .
