Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has committed to sponsoring the education of 22 children in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district who lost one or both parents during intense Pakistani shelling along the Line of Control.
Operation Sindoor which involved cross-border shelling between May 7 and May 10 was particularly severe in Poonch, which accounted for 13 of the 28 civilian fatalities reported across Jammu and Kashmir during that period.
It was in response to the devastating April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, mostly tourists.
Tariq Hameed Karra, the Pradesh Congress Committee president told PTI that the initiative began after Rahul Gandhi personally visited Poonch to meet with the bereaved families in the aftermath of the shelling.
"He asked us to prepare a list of school-going children who lost one or both parents, especially the breadwinners, and accordingly we submitted the list to him," Karra told a PTI reporter.
Karra, who is on a three-day tour of the Poonch and Rajouri districts, confirmed that a list of 22 such children from Poonch has been finalized and that more could be added.
He is now in the region to personally hand over the financial aid sent by Gandhi for the children's educational expenses.
"This is an initiative aimed at extending a helping hand to the children so that their studies are not impacted," Karra told PTI.
While focusing on the aid distribution, Karra also briefly touched upon the political situation in the region. He denied any internal problems with the National Conference (NC), the Congress's pre-poll alliance partner, but mentioned that his party has been waiting for a joint coordination committee with the ruling party to be formed for the past nine months.
