Battal Sector, Azad Kashmir: On a dusty, uneven patch of ground beside the Poonch River, the rhythmic thud of a volleyball hitting palms and sand rose above the late afternoon quiet. It’s a familiar sound in the border village of Jhawara, located in the Poonch district of Azad Kashmir, the part of the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir that is governed by Pakistan. But until recently, it had fallen silent under the roar of artillery and gunfire. Just weeks ago, the area bore the brunt of intense cross-border shelling between India and Pakistan.