Most of the villagers who had fled the fighting have yet to return, worried about renewed artillery shelling.

In Khemkaran village in Indian Punjab, just five kms from the border, soldiers keep watch and there is little movement.

Most of the mud houses are abandoned and the concrete houses remain locked. Residents fled the village at the height of the conflict between India and Pakistan.

Fears persist

Since then, a few of the villagers have come back but most stay away, after having suffered in two wars between the countries.

Fear of renewed fighting persists

"We don't trust Pakistan because we have faced two wars. In the first time we were not even left with a glass of water to drink. Six years later, in 1971, war broke out again. We suffered heavy losses during that time also," said Chaman Lal.

"Only 35% [of the] people have returned," said Gurdeep Singh. "But out of them, 15% are those who come here for business and return in the evening.

"The fear is still there," he said.

An elderly villager, Jeet Singh, said it would be a while before people returned to his village.

Jeet Singh: Nobody will come back till troops withdraw

"Until troops from across the border withdraw completely and peace does not return, nobody will come back," he said.

Thousands of villagers in Indian Punjab are estimated to have moved to safer areas during the conflict. Indian officials said some 200 border villages were affected.