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Kashmiris
Evacuated From Their Homes
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| Indian
troops evacuated people to set up positions |
By
IOL Correspondent, Aamir Latif
MUZAFFARABAD,
Pakistan, Feb. 1 (IslamOnline) - Concentration of Pakistani and Indian troops
across the disputed Line of Control (LoC) coupled with large-scale movement of
military vehicles and mining activities have displaced thousands of Kashmiris
form their hearths and homes in occupied and Azad Kashmir.
A
large number of families have been forced by the mounting military buildup
across the LoC following a suicide attack on New Delhi’s parliament on
December 13, 2001.
During
a visit to a refugee camp situated in Muzaffarabad, Kashmiri refugees belonging
to villages that border with Azad Kashmir told IOL correspondent that Indian
army had forced them to shift from their homes to other areas inside occupied
Kashmir or to flee to the Pakistani-administered area of the Himalayan valley.
About
5,000 refugees belonging to occupied Kashmir and border areas of Azad Kashmir
are living in this camp, where two middle schools and a hospital are being
jointly run by the government of Azad Kashmir and Al-Khidmat Welfare
Organization, a local NGO .
“The
Indian troops have laid mines along the Line of Control in several areas
including Poonch, Rajouri, R.S. Pora, Samba and Hiranagar sectors in Jammu
creating problems both for humans as well as cattle”, Ghulam Hussain, an aging
Kashmiri said. Mr. Hussain claims to have been forced by Indian army to move to
Azad Kashmir on December 20 along with his wife and three sons.
“They
(Indian troops) asked us to move from our villages as they need space for their
forces and vehicles,” he said. “The Indian troops have occupied school
buildings and the management has been forced to close schools for indefinite
period,” he added.
“Since
the residents were not being allowed to return to their homes, a large number of
cattle have perished during the few weeks causing heavy losses to the owners who
themselves are facing starvation,” Hussain maintained.
He
said the area people had informed the member of the so-called legislative
assembly Nisar Ahmad about their forced evacuation in this cold weather. “He (Nisar)
promised that he would take up the issue with Chief Minister but nothing
favorable happened,” he said.
Around
2000 people of the Neelam Valley and Chakothi Sector (Azad Kashmir) have also
been forced to leave their homes since December 13, 2001 and take refugee at
this camp.
“We
had no other option because the cross firing and shelling between Pakistani and
Indian forces made our lives miserable,” Tariq Ali, 35, a resident of Neelam
Valley told IslamOnline.
“We
are waiting for an end to the ongoing tension between the two countries so that
we can move back to our homes,” he said.
Although,
Tariq said, necessary facilities were available at the refugee camp, but “this
could never be the substitute of home”.
“My
kids were preparing for their final examinations of grades 3 and 4, which are
scheduled to be held in March 2002. Now I don’t know whether or not the
examinations will be held on time,” he said.
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