Poonch (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], July 27 (ANI): General Officer Commanding of the 'Ace of Spades' division of the Indian Army, Major General Kaushik Mukherjee, has inaugurated a new War Memorial with the names of Poonch civilians who died due to cross-border shelling by Pakistan at the time of Operation Sindoor.

The war memorial has been constructed by the Durga Battalion of the Poonch Brigade at the Ajote War Memorial in Poonch.

Japneet Kaur, a resident of Poonch, whose father died in the cross-border shelling by Pakistan, told ANI that it was her wish to see all those who died in the cross-border shelling be given the status of martyrs.

'It was our wish that all those who died here should be given the status of martyrs. Today, on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas, the Army built a memorial here to give us some support in our grief,' she said.

'My father's name was Amrik Singh. I am very happy to see his name here,' she added.

Rameez Khan, a resident of Poonch whose children died in the cross-border shelling by Pakistan, said, 'The army did a good job... My children's names were Zayn and Zoya... I just wanted them to be given the status of martyrs.'

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 as a decisive military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. Indian Armed Forces targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, leading to the death of over 100 terrorists affiliated with terror outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen.

After the attack, Pakistan retaliated with cross-border shelling across the Line of Control and Jammu and Kashmir as well as attempted drone attacks along the border regions, following which India launched a coordinated attack and damaged radar infrastructure, communication centres and airfields across 11 airbases in Pakistan.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, 16 people have been killed due to Pakistani shelling, and 59 others have been injured. (ANI)