A Poonch woman’s 13-yr-old twins died 5 mins apart. She hides their deaths to keep their father alive

Zoya & Ayan, 13 were killed when a Pakistani shell struck their home in Poonch. Their father, still being treated for his injuries, is unaware of their deaths.

Charred remains of a house in in Poonch | Sajid Ali | ThePrint

Jammu: Ursha Khan is living two lives—one as a grieving mother, the other as a strong wife. Every time her husband, Rameez Khan, asks about their twins while lying injured in a bed at GMC Hospital in Jammu, she forces a smile. “They’re safe at their Nani’s house in Poonch,” she tells him gently.

Moments later, she slips away to the hospital washroom, where the truth overwhelms her. She breaks down, stifling her sobs with her hands so he won’t hear.

Zoya and Ayan, 13, born 5 minutes apart, were killed when a Pakistani shell struck their home in Poonch.

“My brother doesn’t know that his children are dead. If he did, he would lose the will to live. He’ll die,” said Rameez’s brother, Mushtaq Khan.

Rameez Khan is undergoing treatment at GMC Hospital in Jammu for severe injuries to the left side of his body. He was first taken to a government hospital in Poonch, then shifted to Rajouri, before being referred to Jammu due to the extent of his wounds.

On 7 May, the day Operation Sindoor was launched, Poonch came under heavy shelling from Pakistan. For the first time in three decades, civilians in the heart of Poonch city were directly targeted. The barrage claimed over a dozen lives, including that of an army personnel, according to the police.

For Zoya and Ayan, 7 May began like any other day. They got ready for school, the Christ School in Poonch, and had just about stepped outside their home at around 7 am when the shelling started. Within minutes, a shell hit Zoya. She collapsed on the spot and died instantly. A minute later, another shell hit Ayan. He died before reaching the hospital.

Their father, Rameez, was flung several metres by the force of the blast. Ursha, injured herself, clutched the lifeless bodies of her children in her arms. Her eyes, hollow and unblinking, fixed on her husband—lying bloodied on the street. Her world had shattered in an instant. But she didn’t cry. Her injured foot was oozing blood, but it didn’t matter.

“She stood like a zombie. Her eyes were bloodshot, but no tears came. She just couldn’t understand what had happened,” said a relative, Sarfaraz Mir.

Pakistan armed forces launched multiple attacks using drones, shells and other munitions along the LoC following the precise missile strikes carried out by the Indian armed forces on nine terror targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan early Wednesday under Operation Sindoor, in retaliation for the 22 April Pahalgam terror attack.

The Christ School in Poonch was also damaged in the shelling. After Zoya and Ayan’s deaths, fear gripped the neighbourhood. Families fled, and the area now lies deserted. Despite the announcement of a ceasefire, no one has returned.

‘Who knew they moved to Poonch to get killed’

The family had moved to Poonch just three months ago, hoping to give their children a better chance at education. Until then, it took them an hour each way to travel from their village in Kalan to Christ School in Poonch. The parents worried the long commute was taking a toll on their studies.

“Sometimes, the children wouldn’t get a bus back home and had to wait for hours,” said Mushtaq.

So, they rented a house just a few meters away from the school.

Zoya, the family said, was the most cherished member of their family. She had been a long-awaited blessing, “a gift after many duas (prayers)”, they said. Rameez had three elder brothers, each with sons, and Zoya was the first girl to be born in the family—anointed as the apple of everyone’s eye.

Ursha Khan with her daughter Zoya | Photo: Special arrangement

“Who knew they had moved to Poonch to get killed. It’s all written by Allah,” said Mushtaq.

While her husband was still receiving treatment at the hospital in Poonch, Ursha quietly laid her children to rest.

At GMC Jammu, Rameez Khan—who regained consciousness on 10 May, the day the ceasefire was announced—is eager to meet his children. Every day, countless times, he asks Ursha to video call them.

Each time, she makes excuses about patchy internet or cooks up stories about what the children did that day at their Nani’s house.

Rameez, who was transfused with five units of blood on 10 May, says he wants to survive for his children. He keeps telling Ursha that he doesn’t want them to grow up without a father.

(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)