San Francisco Frontiers - 'Miracle': family reunites in Kashmir after fleeing conflict

She returned home on Wednesday to a rapturous welcome from her mother-in-law and husband after fearing they would be killed by Pakistani strikes and that her house would be destroyed.

"I never thought I would return to a home that was still intact," the 37-year-old school teacher from Poonch said.

The house is a patchwork of brightly painted rooms, built gradually as the family expanded. A second floor is underway but far from complete.

Tens of thousands of people living near India's contested frontier with Pakistan were forced to flee as both countries launched deadly attacks and counter-attacks over four days, starting May 7.

But many are returning after the nuclear-armed neighbours agreed to a ceasefire on Saturday.

Poonch, a frontier town in Indian-administered Kashmir that was one of the worst-hit in the attacks.

Sharma's home, in a narrow lane hemmed by tightly packed houses, survived the deadly strikes, but several of her neighbours were not so lucky.

Her mother-in-law, Champa Devi, who refused to leave, said it was a "miracle" their house was intact and that she and her son survived.

"I had resigned to the possibility of not seeing my grandchildren ever again," she said, as her youngest grandson, two-year-old Daksh, zoomed past in a toy car.

- 'Night of terror' -

"It was a night of terror," Sharma said, recalling the first night of fighting before she fled in a taxi to her sister's house, nearly 300 kilometres (190 miles) away.

She said her decision to leave was "for the sake of my children".

Sharma's mother, who lives alone a few blocks away, joined them.

The 12-hour journey down the mountains saw them being bombarded with phone calls and text messages bringing a spate of bad news.

"I got a call from a relative saying that an explosion in a petrol station had killed my nephew," she recalled.

"Our cab had stopped there for refuelling barely 10 minutes earlier."

At least 15 Indian civilians died in the fighting -- the deadliest between the two South Asian rivals since 1999.

It followed an April 22 attack on tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 26 civilians.

India accused Pakistan of backing the "terrorists" it said were responsible for the Pahalgam attack -- a charge Islamabad denied -- and last week launched missiles at sites in Pakistan it said were hosting the militants.

- 'The trauma followed us' -

Sharma said she was constantly fretting about her husband and in-laws' safety during the week she was away.

"We may have been physically far, but the trauma followed us," she said.

"I would often wake up in the middle of the night with a feeling of dread."

An AFP team joined them for their return journey, a far more relaxed and happy affair.

After an early start, the family stopped for breakfast at a small eatery on the highway, where they chatted with other families returning home.

The conversations were grim, with many of the exchanges discussing dead relatives or friends.

"They have changed Poonch forever," said Sharma's mother Purnima. "You will never know what we have gone through."

A packed lunch, chicken curry and rice, was eaten on paper plates in the car.

As the sun dipped, the scenery changed from semi-urban plains to more rural and picturesque, pine-dotted valleys, signalling that home was near.

"It feels good to be back but there is this lingering apprehension that something will go wrong again," said Sharma.

In some areas along the contested frontier that fear pervades, with reports of fresh drone sightings and renewed shelling, forcing some families to flee again.

That fear pervades in some parts of the contested frontier where there have been reports of fresh drone sightings and renewed shelling, forcing some people to flee again.

The sun was setting when the taxi finally reached Sharma's neighbourhood.

Her husband Sanjeev stood outside the narrow lane leading to their home to greet them. His son Daksh immediately jumped into his father's arms.

Sharma lugged her suitcase up the alleys, arriving home just in time for evening tea -- their first together in over a week.

"I feel alive again," her mother-in-law Champa Devi said. "What is a home anyway without the kids?"

M.Hill--SFF