EARLY TIMES REPORT
KAMALKOTE (JK), Mar 4: A week after the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan on the Line of Control, residents along the border have heaved a sigh of relief and hoped it is followed in letter and spirit without any violations.
India and Pakistan had announced on February 25 that they have agreed to strictly observe all agreements on ceasefire along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir and other sectors.
In Sarai Bandi village in Kamalkote sector in Uri area of North Kashmir''s Baramulla district, about three kilometres from the LoC, the residents are happy about the call taken by the director-general of military operations of both the countries.
The village suffered the brunt of the firing by the Pakistani side on November 13 last year when six civilians were killed and several others injured. Many residential houses suffered the damage.
Karamat Hussain, 83, lost his 45-year-old son Irshad Ahmad that day. Father of six children - four girls and two boys - Ahmad had gone to a government store to get ration for the family.
"He was hit by a shell and he died on the spot," Hussain said.
Often in the line of fire of the aggression of the two countries, the villagers expressed hope the ceasefire is followed in letter and spirit without any violations.
"We celebrated (the news). It is like awakening from a deep slumber. We were happy to know there is going to be a ceasefire. We have been sleeping with peace since then and we hope it continues and there is no violation," Hussain, who has himself been injured in the firing, said.
Syed Muneer, 43, whose brother, Nader Hussain, 45, lost both his legs in the shelling that day, said the family has been struggling to cope up with the incident.
"My brother was in hospital for a long time. There was no support from the government, except for the Rs 40,000 from the Red Cross fund. He survived, but he cannot support his family," he said. |
