Amritsar (Punjab) [India], May 8 (ANI): Akal Takht, the supreme temporal body of Sikhs, has strongly condemned the attack by Pakistani forces on the Central Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha Sahib in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch.

'Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj, officiating Jathedar of Akal Takht Sahib, has strongly condemned the attack in the Poonch region of Kashmir, where civilians, including Sikhs, were killed and a gurdwara was attacked amid rising tensions and cross-border attacks between India and Pakistan,' reads an official press release.

According to the press release, Jathedar Gargajj stated that during Pakistan's retaliatory shelling in Poonch, following India's Operation Sindoor, the central Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha was hit. During the attacks in Poonch, three Gursikhs were killed - Bhai Amrik Singh (a raagi), Bhai Amarjeet Singh (a retired army soldier), and Bhai Ranjit Singh (a local shopkeeper). Additionally, reports have emerged of a Sikh woman named Ruby Kaur being killed in the Mankote area. Other civilian casualties in Poonch have also come to light. The Jathedar offered prayers for the spiritual peace of those who lost their lives and strength for their families to endure the loss.

He emphasised that both nations' governments must immediately make sincere efforts to restore peace.

'War always severely harms humanity, often resulting in the deaths of many innocent people,' he said. 'Therefore, every possible effort must be made to resolve the current situation peacefully.'

Jathedar Gargajj also noted that since 1947, both countries have suffered immense losses due to ongoing hostilities, particularly the Hindu and Sikh communities in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. He urged border residents to support one another during these tense times, seek solace in Gurbani, and pray to the Akal Purakh (the One Timeless being) for peace and strength.

Pakistan Army's shelling has caused huge damage in civilian areas of Poonch, leading to the death of nearly 12 people in the district, and a shell hit a corner of Shri Guru Singh Sabha Gurudwara, President of District Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee Narinder Singh said on Wednesday.

He said one shell hit Geeta Bhawan and one shell hit a mosque, also killing a teacher in the mosque.

He said that the neighbouring country has no sense as it has made a huge attack on civilians, which has led to a lot of damage. He urged the Jammu and Kashmir government and the Centre to make efforts to improve the situation.

Narinder Singh said locals were in panic, and many had left their residences.

'It is a very painful tragedy...Nearly 12 people have died in Poonch district due to cross-border shelling... In proper Poonch, five from the Sikh community the rest from the Muslim community have died. A shell hit one corner of our Gurudwara Shri Guru Singh Sabha, because of which one door and a few glasses were shattered... Reports are being circulated that shelling has caused heavy losses to the Gurudwara, which are not correct. Since it is a congested area, one shell has hit Geeta Bhawan and one shell hit a mosque also, killing one teacher in the mosque,' Narinder Singh said in a self-made video.

Earlier, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Sukhbir Singh Badal strongly condemned the inhuman attack by Pakistani forces on the sacred Central Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha Sahib in Poonch.

After Operation Sindoor, the Pakistan Army continued its series of ceasefire violations by targeting civilian areas in the border areas of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday. Officials said the shelling caused panic among villagers and damaged several houses.

Visuals showed damaged civilian infrastructure, shattered window panes, cracked walls, and debris scattered across the lanes of the village.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah held an emergency meeting with officials over the current situation in border areas.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Wednesday that the Indian Armed Forces displayed their valour and bravery in Operation Sindoor, scripting a new history, and took action against terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and POJK with 'precision, alertness and sensitivity'.

At a joint briefing on Operation Sindoor in which nine terrorist camps were targeted with precision strikes, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the terror attack in Pahalgam was marked with extreme barbarity, with the victims mostly killed with head shots at close range and in front of their family.

'The family members were deliberately traumatised through the manner of killing, accompanied by the exhortation that they should take back the message. The attack was clearly driven by the objective of undermining normalcy returning to Kashmir,' he said.

Misri said that Indian intelligence agencies had been monitoring terrorist activities and raised concerns regarding more terrorist attacks in India.

'Our intelligence indicated that further attacks against India are impending. Thus, compulsion, both to deter and prevent and hence earlier this morning, India exercised its right to respond to deter such more cross-border terrorism... Our actions were measured and non-escalatory, proportionate and responsible. They focused on dismantling terrorists' infrastructure,' he said.

Wing Commander Vyomika Singh informed that a total of nine terror sites were targeted and successfully destroyed. She asserted that the locations were selected so that there was no damage to civilians and their infrastructures.

'Operation Sindoor was launched by the Indian Armed Forces to deliver justice to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and their families. Nine terrorist camps were targeted and successfully destroyed... The locations were so selected to avoid damage to civilian infrastructures and loss of any civilian lives, she said.

Col Sofiya Qureshi showed some videos of the strikes destroying terror camps.

The Indian Armed Forces launched 'Operation Sindoor' early Wednesday.

Twenty-six people were killed in the Pahalgam terror attack. The government had said that the perpetrators will face severe punishment. (ANI)