Poonch, 24 May

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Saturday reached out to school students here who lost two of their mates -- 12-year-old twins Zain Ali and Urwa Fatima -- to Pakistani shelling, consoling as well as encouraging them to "study hard, play hard and make lots of friends".

"Don't worry, everything will come back to normal," he said while interacting with the friends of the two deceased children.

During an hour-long whirlwind tour of Poonch town bruised by heavy shelling from across the LoC during the India-Pakistan military standoff earlier this month, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha interacted with the students of the convent school which lost Ali and Fatima.

Though the school escaped the shelling between 7 and 10 May that left 28 dead and over 70 others injured, its two students died in Poonch town on 7 May. They were among the 13 civilians who died in Poonch district the worst-hit by the shelling.

"You've seen a bit of danger, you've seen a bit of a frightening situation. But don't worry, everything will come back to normal. And your way of responding to this problem should be that you study really hard, you play really hard and you make a lot of friends in school. Okay? Will you do that? Good," Gandhi told the students of Christ School.

His presence at the school brightened up the students who were seen clapping and waving at the former Congress president who shook hands with them. "Big hug to all of you. Love you and thank you," he said before leaving.

He visited the families of those who lost their lives in the shelling and inspected damage to the houses and religious places, including a Gurdwara.

Accompanied by party leaders, including AICC General Secretary in charge of the party's Jammu and Kashmir affairs Syed Naseer Hussain, AICC general secretary G A Mir, J-K Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra and former ministers Vikar Rasool Wani and Lal Singh, Gandhi paid obeisance at Singh Sabha Gurdwara.

When Gandhi was leaving the Singh Sabha Gurdwara, a man in the crowd expressed his faith in the Congress leader to raise their voice at the national level.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not even mention Poonch (during his address to the nation in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor but we have faith that you will raise our issue," he said after Gandhi halted in his steps to hear the man dodging the security apparatus to come closer.

During an interaction with a young girl whose house was badly damaged, she told Gandhi that they were five sisters and their father died 16 years ago. Recounting the horrifying experience, the girl said they were on the ground floor when the shell hit the house and they had a miraculous escape.

Some residents sought Gandhi's intervention in enhancing the compensation for their damaged houses.

This was Gandhi's second visit to the Union territory since the dastardly 22 April Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives, mostly tourists.