one Rina Begum returns after a fire of artillery fleeing the border and discovers her home in Kashmir. The walls were broken, the roof was shaking, blowing inward, the windows were blowing, and the glass shards scattered on the floor mixed with the ashes of the daughter's book.
The 45-year-old stares at the cracked window frames of the looming mountains. “It keeps raining from there,” she said.
Begum lives in a small village near Uri, a town located 60 miles (100 kilometers) northwest of Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir managed by India. The small village is dangerously close to the Line of Control, a de facto border of militarization that splits Kashmir between India and Pakistan.
Tensions between nuclear-weapon neighbors escalated to open military confrontation after a radical attack on April 22 caused 25 tourists and local guides in Pahargam. India accused Pakistan of having “connections” with the attack without providing public evidence. Pakistan denies any involvement.
Soon after, artillery fire broke out on the controversial border.
"It feels like my ears will burst out from the explosion," Bergm said. "I don't think we will survive." She managed to escape to a nearby town with her husband and her six-year-old daughter.
Since gaining independence in 1947, India and Pakistan have fought for Kashmir, each claiming the entire Himalayas but controlling only a portion.
In Indian-managed Kashmir (a Muslim-majority territory), a popular uprising against Indian rule turned violent in the 1990s, with thousands of young people trying their best to demand merger or complete independence with Pakistan. Most militant groups promise allegiance to Pakistan, which provides training, weapons and logistical support.
India responded through a massive counterinsurgency campaign, reducing the number of militants from thousands to hundreds. Despite these actions, the rebellion never completely quelled and continued to fuel deadly attacks in Kashmir and mainland India.
This time, tensions escalated as India responded to attacks on tourists, attacking armed sites in Pakistan and in Pakistan, prompting Pakistan’s retaliatory attacks to violate its territorial integrity.
As the region became closer to a full-scale conflict, both sides fired missiles at each other’s main military bases and airports, and the ruthless shelling lasted for several days. The violence only disappeared after President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire prompted by Washington.
By then, dozens of them were dead. Kashmir was the first to be hit, with about 50 civilians killed on both sides, thousands of displaced people and several residential areas being cut down to rubble.
When the battle stopped, both India and Pakistan won. But in Kashmir, fear lingers. Begum and her family barely return to their village to rebuild. While residents cherish the fragile peace, few believe it will endure.
“I pray that this calm continues,” Bergham said. "But unless the problem is resolved, these countries will never coexist peacefully. It's only a matter of time before we get caught in war again, weeks, months or years."
Many Kashmiris and observers have objected to this fear, saying the situation leading to the confrontation remains the same.
Two days after the Pahalgam attack, local police identified three gunmen and released sketches for a bounty of 2 million rupees (about £19,000). One is called a local militant, others are called Pakistanis. Everyone remained the whole.
In his first speech after the escalation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India has only "suspended" its military operations and will "retaliate on its own terms." The Indian Defense Minister added: "Any attack on Indian land will be considered an act of war".
Experts say such statements increase the possibility of future escalation and may play in the hands of radical organizations.
"This claim is very unfortunate. It has put India in a mechanical reaction - which means every terrorist act will lead to an attack on Pakistan," said Ajai Sahni, an anti-terrorism expert in India. "We must understand that many terrorists are designed to inspire war between India and Pakistan."
In 2019, the Modi government unilaterally revoked Kashmir's limited autonomy and divided it into two trade union territories. It was followed by the crackdown on dissenters, and new laws that deprived locals of their exclusive rights to land and work, which inspired fears of population change.
Modi believes that this move is a step towards development and better security. Since then, Kashmir has been promoted to a peaceful tourist destination with increasing number of visitors as evidence of normal conditions. However, Pahalgam attacks expose the fragility of this narrative.
In fact, since 2019, the region has witnessed new attacks from trained militants, targeting not only government forces, but also Hindu minorities, non-local workers and Hindu pilgrims.
Indian Army and police sources told the Guardian that about 100 militants are active in Kashmir, which is managed in India. After exquisite jungle warfare training and equipped with modern communications, they pose an ongoing challenge to the counterinsurgency grid.
The threat of further attacks appears to have increased since India's recent military operations. Terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda, reportedly issued a new warning to India and vowed to strike again.
Pravin Sawhney, a well-known defense analyst and former officer, said he believes India's actions have not stopped militants. He warned that the bar for war between India and Pakistan was low, especially after the Modi government announced that any future armed attacks would be considered an act of war.
Sohni said this could become normal as he saw drones and roaming ammunition in the recent outbreak.
"The new normal is that whenever a terrorist attack occurs and India responds, we will see drones, rockets and wandering ammunition fire on the border," he said.
"The key is that Kashmir is not peaceful or normal. It's a war zone. So if you bring tourists here, these attacks can happen anytime, anywhere. Security forces can't go anywhere at once."
For the average Kashmiris, the situation is becoming increasingly helpless. One side is shrouded in a new threat of violence; on the other hand, a severe internal repression. Hundreds of people were detained after the Pahalgam attack. Under the Public Safety Act, about 90 people (mostly young people) are detained, a severe law that allows for up to two years.