For Kashmir and Kashmiris, the passing of years has rarely meant reprieve. Life here has unfolded amid conflict, and 2025 ended much the same way.On April 22, terrorists killed 26 unarmed civilians in Pahalgam. India retaliated on May 7 with strikes across the border on locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, targeting terrorist bases in Muridke and Bahawalpur. Pakistan responded, followed by further Indian strikes on Pakistani military installations. Soon after, artillery fire and drones lit up the Line of Control, with border villages in Kashmir bearing the brunt.Salamabad in Uri was one such village. Once sustained by cross-border trade through the Trade Facilitation Centre, the hamlet has grown silent since trade was virtually suspended after the Pulwama attack of 2019. On the night of May 7, Zeenat, asleep with her child, recalls drones hovering “like monsters’ eyes.” A shell struck her home, injuring her chest with shrapnel. Her husband, Shameem Ahmad, a daily-wage labourer, waited hours for an ambulance. With trade halted and earnings gone, the cost of her treatment has pushed the family into debt. “Why do we suffer for what India and Pakistan do?” Zeenat asks.Many lost everything. Talib Hussain Naik and his brothers watched their homes burn within seconds, property documents reduced to ash. Compensation of Rs 1.3 lakh barely covers survival as winter leaves these families in abandoned sheds once used for border trade.Elsewhere in Shopian, after Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Shahid Kutay was killed in an encounter, security forces demolished his family home. His sister, now living amid debris, asks why punishment extends to those who had no role in militancy. Similar grief echoes in the family of Ahsan-ul-Haq Sheikh, another slain militant, whose parents insist they had no knowledge of his decisions.Whether hit by cross-border shelling or punitive demolitions, families across Kashmir are left homeless. As long as conflict defines policy, Kashmiris remain casualties – caught between states, abandoned by peace.All photos are by Shome Basu.Badruddin Naik hit shows where he was by a shrapnel.Holes on the attic of a house along the LoC. Residents say these were made during cross-border firing in May.The wall of the room bears testament to the holes. Residents say these were made during cross-border firing in May.The ruins of Ahsan ul Haq Sheikh’s home which was destroyed by authorities, say his family. Police haven’t produced proof of Ahsan being a militant, his father claims.Shopian along the Mughal Road.Shahid Kutay’s home now in rubbles. Shahid Kutay’s sister and mother Famida at their makeshift home in Shopian.Shahid Kutay’s sisiter showing a photo of her other brother. The makeshift home of Kutay’s family.Writing on the wall at the ruins of LeT’s Shahid Kutay’s house.