'Our moral responsibility to stand beside people affected by Pak shelling': TMC

Kolkata, May 23 (PTI) A day after a five-member delegation of the Trinamool Congress visited Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district to express solidarity with people affected by recent artillery and mortar shelling by the Pakistan Army, the party on Friday said its moral responsibility remains to stand firmly beside the victims of the attacks from across the border.

In a post on its official X handle, TMC said the team visited two educational institutions where innocent civilians, including two children, lost lives in unprovoked attacks by Pakistan.

"Yesterday, our 5-member delegation visited Poonch to meet families shattered by heavy cross-border shelling. Among them was the bereaved family of ex-serviceman Amarjeet Singh, who lost his life, leaving behind two young children," the party said in the post.

"The team also visited Christ School, where 12-year-old twins, Zain Ali and Urwa Fatima, tragically perished in the blast. Another student, Rehan Bhargav, was grievously injured, while young Rajwansh lost an arm," the TMC said.

The delegation paid respects at Madrassa Zia-ul-Uloom, where a teacher lost his life and the institution now stands in ruins, it said.

"This has been a journey of solidarity and shared sorrow. In this hour of profound grief, it is our duty and moral responsibility to stand firmly beside them," the party said.

The TMC delegation, comprising MPs Derek O'Brien, Sagarika Ghose and Md Nadimul Haque, West Bengal minister Manas Bhunia and former MP Mamata Thakur, visited Poonch on their second day of a three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, which began on Wednesday from Srinagar.

The Indian Army struck nine terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) under Operation Sindoor in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people.

The subsequent retaliation by Pakistan, which included cross-border artillery shelling, killed 27 civilians and injured over 70 people in the Jammu region, particularly the Poonch sector.

Rajya Sabha MP Ghose said they had come to Poonch to assure the affected people that the entire West Bengal and India stood with them.

"This is a journey of empathy. This is a journey of unity. We have come here to share the pain and sorrow of the people who have lost their family members and those who are injured," she told reporters here.

She assured the people that they would not be left alone in this situation.

"We are here to say that you are not alone. We all stand with you. All the people of West Bengal stand with you, and all the people of India stand with you," she added. PTI SUS ACD