Poonch (J-K) (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday met the victims of the cross-border shelling by Pakistani troops in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and described the damage caused as a "big tragedy", pledging to highlight their plight at the national level.

The leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha visited Poonch town and interacted for over an hour with the affected population, including the families who lost their members in the shelling between May 7 and May 10.

"It is a big tragedy. Many people lost their lives. They (Pakistan army) have hit civilian targets directly. I talked to the people and tried to understand their problems and they have asked me to raise their issue at the national level which I will do," Gandhi told reporters.

Later, in a post on X, he said, "Today I met the families of those who lost their lives in shelling by Pakistani troops in Poonch. Damaged houses, scattered belongings, moist eyes and painful stories of losing loved ones -- these patriotic families bear the biggest burden of war with courage and dignity every time. Salute to their courage."

"I stand strongly with the victim families -- I will definitely raise their demands and issues at the national level," Gandhi added.

He was accompanied by senior Congress leaders, the party's Jammu and Kashmir unit president Tariq Hameed Karra and AICC general secretary G A Mir.

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

Gandhi visited Srinagar on April 25 to meet those injured in the terror attack. He had also met the Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant governor, the chief minister and several stakeholders then.

On Saturday morning, the former Congress chief reached Jammu airport and left for Poonch in a helicopter to visit the areas affected by the cross-border shelling and meet the bereaved families, a party leader said.

The Poonch sector was witness to heightened artillery and mortar shelling after India carried out precise strikes under Operation Sindoor on nine terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7 in response to the dastardly Pahalgam massacre.

A wave of artillery shelling, missiles and drone strikes by Pakistan killed 28 people, 13 in Poonch district alone, and injured more than 70 between May 7 and 10 across Jammu and Kashmir.

Thousands moved hearth and home from areas near the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border areas to seek refuge in government-run relief camps.

India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the military confrontation after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

On Saturday, Karra said, "Gandhi will visit shell-hit structures, including a gurdwara, a temple, a madrassa and a Christian missionary school. He will also meet the bereaved families and the members of the civil society.

"Gandhi is the first national leader to reach out to the affected population to express his solidarity and share their pain," he had said.

During his visit to Jammu and Kashmir last month following the terror attack, Gandhi had said the idea behind the terror strike was to divide the people of the country and it was imperative that India stood united to defeat terrorism once and for all.