New Delhi, 22 May

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is likely to visit Poonch in the Jammu region on Saturday to meet the families of those killed and affected by the recent Pakistani shelling, party sources said.

This will be the second visit of Gandhi, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, to Jammu and Kashmir after the 22 April Pahalgam terror attack in which 25 tourists and one local were killed.

The former Congress chief is set to visit Poonch and meet the next of kin of those killed and the families affected by Pakistan's cross-border shelling, the party sources said.

During his visit to Jammu and Kashmir last month following the attack, Gandhi had said the idea behind the terror strike was to divide the people of the country and it was imperative that India stood united to defeat terrorism once and for all.

The Poonch sector was witness to heightened artillery shelling about two weeks ago following the rise in tensions with Pakistan after India carried out precise strikes on nine terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) that included the headquarters of the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed (Bahawalpur) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (Muridke) on 7 May.

A wave of artillery shelling, and missiles and drone strikes by Pakistan in the Jammu region -- particularly in Poonch -- killed 27 people and injured more than 70 between May 8 and 10 after India launched Operation Sindoor to target terror infrastructure in the neighbouring country and PoK.

Thousands have fled from the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border areas to seek refuge in government-run relief camps. India carried out precision strikes under Operation Sindoor on terror infrastructure early on 7 May in response to the Pahalgam attack.

Following the Indian action, Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on 8, 9 and 10 May. The Indian forces launched a fierce counter-attack on several Pakistani military installations.

India and Pakistan reached an understanding on 10 May to end the military confrontation after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.