'Very tense, very scary': Calgary couple visiting Kashmir caught in crossfire

Rukhsar Ali · CBC News

· Posted: May 14, 2025 1:51 PM EDT | Last Updated: 18 minutes ago

Syed Arshid Hussain and his woman travelled to Pakistan-administered Kashmir to sojourn his 85-year-old mother, who lives there, conscionable astir a week earlier the existent escalation began betwixt India and Pakistan.

The Calgary mates is staying successful a colony astir 20 kilometres from the Line of Control — the de facto borderline betwixt Indian and Pakistani-run Kashmir — wherever Hussain said helium could inactive perceive cross-border firing, contempt the ceasefire woody betwixt the 2 nuclear-armed nations.

"We tin perceive the firing and it's precise tense, precise scary," helium told the Calgary Eyeopener on Monday. "I don't cognize erstwhile it tin escalate again, the mode it is going."

The caller escalation betwixt India and Pakistan has near dozens dormant and injured connected some sides of the borderline — the bulk of them in Kashmir.

While the ceasefire seems mostly to beryllium holding crossed the 2 countries for now, Hafsa Kanjwal, an subordinate prof of South Asian past astatine Lafayette College successful Pennsylvania, warns the woody does not needfully equate to bid for the Kashmiri people.

"I am, of course, relieved that a broader determination escalation has been prevented with a ceasefire arsenic such. But successful the Kashmir region, there's ne'er truly a ceasefire," she said. 

"Kashmir continues to ever beryllium astatine the receiving extremity of violence."

Kashmir the 'flashpoint' of India-Pakistan conflict

Over the 4 days of back-and-forth strikes betwixt India and Pakistan, Hussain said helium and his household person been bracing themselves arsenic missiles and drones alert crossed the nighttime entity and explosions are heard not truthful acold away.

Hussain, who is the president of the Kashmir Canada Association of Calgary, has advocated for bid successful the portion for years.

India and Pakistan's quality implicit Kashmir has spanned astir 8 decades, dating backmost to 1947, erstwhile India became autarkic from the British and the partition began to found the authorities of Pakistan.

"Kashmiris were promised a plebiscite oregon immoderate benignant of referendum [to determine their ain future] backmost successful the precocious '40s, and up until present that hasn't happened. And Kashmiris person tried to propulsion that close to self-determination utilizing peaceful means, sometimes utilizing equipped means," Kanjwal explained. 

"There is some a consciousness of fatigue, exhaustion successful Kashmir, [and] the feeling that the full satellite lone pays attraction to the portion erstwhile things go volatile betwixt India and Pakistan."

"The Kashmir contented is the flashpoint betwixt these 2 atomic countries," Hussain said. 

"And if that contented is not resolved, I don't spot immoderate ceasefire oregon immoderate dialog that volition bring bid successful this portion of the world."

The pathway to peace

Riyaz Khawaja, a Calgarian who is primitively from Srinagar, a metropolis successful the Indian-administered broadside of Kashmir, visits his parents backmost location frequently. He said the full back-and-forth has been a large accent for the full valley.

"There was a batch of panic everywhere," Khawaja said. "They announced the ceasefire [so] there's a spot of alleviation connected everyone and anticipation that the ceasefire committedness stays connected some sides and the bid volition return."

The ceasefire, archetypal announced Saturday by U.S. President Donald Trump connected Truth Social, breaks from the accustomed contented of planetary actors staying retired — astatine slightest publically — of India and Pakistan's affairs, according to Kanjwal.

In a aboriginal post, Trump said, "I volition enactment with you some to spot if, aft a 1000 years, a solution tin beryllium arrived at, concerning Kashmir."

While the quality has not played retired implicit a "thousand years," Kanjwal clarified, the determination by Trump to assistance negociate a solution has "inadvertently" internationalized the struggle successful a mode it hasn't been successful the past.

Whatever whitethorn travel of this development, Kanjwal said the pathway to lasting bid volition request India and Pakistan to demilitarize the portion and marque abstraction for Kashmiris to person a dependable astatine the negotiating table.

Both Khawaja and Hussain, from other sides of the Line of Control, said they felt the aforesaid mode — that the Kashmiri radical request to beryllium included.

Coming location to Calgary

Hussain told the Eyeopener his children successful Canada are precise acrophobic for him and his wife, calling each half-hour to cheque connected them.

The mates were primitively scheduled to instrumentality to Canada this week, but present helium says he's waiting connected his hose to rebook him.

Since the April 22 violent onslaught successful Pahalgam successful Indian-administered Kashmir, some Indian and Pakistani airspace has been unopen down for periods of time.

But adjacent erstwhile helium does get a formation retired of the region, coming location to Canada won't beryllium the enactment of alleviation it should beryllium for Hussain. His aged parent volition beryllium near behind.

"It's precise stressful due to the fact that erstwhile I spot my astir 86-year-old mother, seeing her aft 3 years and present I conscionable similar … I don't cognize however to determine to permission her successful a concern similar this and past spell backmost to Canada.

"And past erstwhile I spot my kids [in Canada] worried. So it's very.… It's not easy. Very stressful."