Aditya Sharma
JAMMU, Jan 25: Indian and Pakistani forces agreement for not violating the ceasefire has given a hope of survival to the panic villagers near the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch, but they still don't trust on Pakistan.
The DGMOs (Director General of Military Operations) of India and Pakistan had a 10 minute talk on Wednesday morning and agreed not to violate the ceasefire and exercise maximum restraint. But the villagers of the Salotharim, Jhulas, Dallan, Deegwar Maldian and Nakkar Kot villages near LoC are still living in a panic atmosphere.
"It's good that they have now decided not to violate ceasefire, but we cannot trust the other side of LoC," said Jaspal Singh, a Watchman from Village Deegwar Maldian near LoC.
"They had violated the ceasefire again and again, they speak something and they have something else in their mind, but we always hope for the best," he added.
Sarwar bi, an old woman from village Deegwar Maldian, who got injured in 2001, when a shell busted at her house, informed ET, "I have got injured and my animals were killed when a shell busted on my house, but after the ceasefire I had managed to make the life smoother, but these continuous violations had again brought back bad days of my life."
"We everyday pray to the Almighty to give them (Pak) good sense, so that they would follow the peace process," she added.
There are more than 60 incidents reported in Poonch district till now from the day of ceasefire in 2003.
People have started living near the LoC, started farming and other jobs but the alarming situation and continuous violation of ceasefire is creating troubles in their life.
Mohd Sadiq, another villager from Nakkar Kot, which is situated on the other side of the fence, said, "We were already facing lots of problem here as we cannot move out after 5 pm, my children are not getting married just because our village is on the other side of the fence, we can't even go to hospital if someone get ill in the evening and now this alarming situation has left us with no hope."
"We cannot trust the forces of the other side (PoK), if they didn't respected the ceasefire, how can we trust them now to follow the telephonic agreement between the DGMOs," he added.
The agreement between the DGMOs comes after more than 10 days of heightened border tension between the two countries.
The tensions began on January 8, when Pakistani soldiers brutally killed two Indian soldiers, beheading one of them, on the LoC in Mendhar. |
