Tense borders: In the line of fire

Indian shelling has shattered lives of people living near the working boundary and LoC.

MUZAFFARABAD/ SIALKOT: “So many have been martyred; so many have been injured. Those who are still alive no longer have a normal life, even though they try to maintain a semblance of normalcy. They step out of their homes to earn livelihood for their families but are forced to hide when Indian security forces start firing,” says Allahditta, a resident of the village Umranwali near Sialkot, situated near the working boundary.

As ceasefire violations on the working boundary and the LoC escalate again, the faces behind the numbers of people affected by the skirmishes share their stories – stories of fear, insecurity and frustration.

Noor Bibi, 60, is angry. She feels utterly helpless.

“Our children are injured and killed. Roofs of our houses are blown off and walls of our homes are shattered by mortar attacks. Our lives are under threat, every day. And we look on, unable to do anything,” she says.

Reliance of the rural population on their cattle as a source of livelihood is a known fact.  According to Chaudhry Ismail, another resident of the area, a large number of cattle and even wildlife are killed or an in danger by Indian firing. When people migrate to safer areas, it is almost impossible for them to take their cattle along. Even acquiring enough fodder for the cattle poses a problem.

“Why are farmers in India allowed to work in their farms without fear of being killed, even though they live close to the border? It is because Pakistani forces don’t fire on civilian areas. Then why do the Indians do this to us?” says a disgruntled Nazeer Ahmed.

People of this area seem very much aware of internationals laws and their rights, as these affect them directly, and ask for justice. “It is high time the United Nations played its role,” says an impassioned Malik Inam Ilahi.

Locals are unarmed civilians whose lives are getting hampered at all levels. Even schoolchildren suffer when schools are shut down due to unsafe conditions. People of the area shared with The Express Tribune that most children have to study at home as schools are mostly closed.

“People are afraid even to come to the mosque to pray, after a mosque in our village was destroyed by Indian shelling,” says Talib Hussain, a resident of the village Bhoor.

Agitation in AJK

In the same vein, the life for those in the Nakyal and Hajeera sectors of Azad Jammu and Kashmir has been troubled for the past three months. In Nakyal alone, more than 10 people, including women and children, have been killed in unprovoked shelling by Indian forces since July.

According to Masood-ur-Rehman, deputy commissioner of Kotli, four union councils of tehsil Nakyal, having a population of 60,000, fall in the jurisdiction of the LoC and are in the line of Indian firing.

In September, unprovoked firing forced from the other side of the LoC forced more than 500 people belonging to 128 families from Turkandi, Datoot, Toopa, Mochyan, Balakot and Dapsi villages to migrate to safer areas of Nakyal. The Kotli district administration established four shelter camps for these uprooted Kashmiris. On the eve of Eidul Azha, these families returned home.

“No one wants to leave their native area but the army of one of the world’s so-called largest democracies attacked our houses, crops, cattle and even killed our innocent women and children,” exclaims Choudhry Ghayas, an enraged victim of Datoot village.

Another resident of Dupsi, a village that has been attacked over a dozen times, shares the same grievances. Like those near Sialkot, he, too, refers to international laws.

“Indian troops open fire at ambulances and Basic Health Units. In this way, it will never allow us to live a happy life. We appeal to the United Nations Military Observers Group for India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), stationed both in Indian-administered and Azad Kashmir, to bring an end to this firing,” he says.

The effects of the August attacks of many villages in Hajeera sector are still visible – bullet-ridden houses, water tanks and trees speak volumes about the travesty.

And yet, these villagers in the line of fire are determined to hold their ground.

“We are living really close to the enemy but will never leave our ancestral area,” says another Donga resident. “India may create fear as it shells our homes, but it will never break our spirit.”
Published in The Express Tribune, October 28^th, 2013.