CHAKOTHI: Schools reopened in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Tuesday after some of the residents of border villages returned home, following a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
The truce was reached after four days of intense exchanges of fire as the old enemies targeted each other’s military installations with missiles and drones, killing dozens of civilians.
In the border town of Chakothi near Line of Control (LoC), attendance was thin at schools as many people, who had moved to safer places due to Indian shelling, were still slowly coming back to the area.
“For the past many days, my school remained closed due to [cross-border Indian] shelling,” said Junaid Munir, a 6th-grader.
“Today, it is open. I have to study and get ahead [in life].”
The military confrontation began on May 7, when India said it launched strikes on nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites in Pakistan and Azad Kashmir, following an attack on Hindu tourists by militants in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam town that killed 26 men last month.
Islamabad denied any links to the attack and called for a neutral investigation.
A local school principal said some residents were waiting for a more definitive peace solution before considering to move back to their border town homes.
“Some of the children, two or three girls, have arrived so far. But [most] parents and the rest of the people have obviously shifted elsewhere,” said Naveed Akhtar, who heads a school in Chakothi.
“That’s why children are not here. The message [about reopening of schools] has been conveyed to them, and, God willing, very soon these children will return to school and our academic system will resume.”
Syeda Zohra Kazmi, who studies in 7th grade, said some mortar shells had partially damaged her home, but she insisted on attending classes as the school reopened on Tuesday.
“There was shelling outside our residence as well, and some shells landed on our house,” she said. “As the schools got reopened today, I said I will go to school. I am not afraid of shelling.”
Schools reopen in Azad Kashmir after Pakistan-India ceasefire
https://arab.news/yv2fc
Schools reopen in Azad Kashmir after Pakistan-India ceasefire
- The truce was reached after four days of intense exchanges of fire as the old enemies targeted each other
- Attendance remained low at schools in border towns of Azad Kashmir where fighting displaced several families
Peace can only prevail if Afghanistan renounces support for ‘terrorism’— Pakistan defense chief
- Pakistan’s chief of defense forces visits South Waziristan district bordering Afghanistan
- Pakistan says has killed 481 Afghan Taliban operatives since clashes began last Thursday
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir said on Wednesday that peace with Afghanistan can only prevail if Kabul renounces support for “terrorism” and “terrorist” organizations, the military’s media wing said as the two countries remain locked in conflict.
Fighting between the two neighbors, the worst in decades, broke out last Thursday night after Afghan forces attacked Pakistan’s military installations along their shared border. Afghanistan said its attacks were in response to earlier airstrikes by Pakistan against alleged militant hideouts in its country.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of sheltering militant outfits such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on its soil who have launched attacks against Pakistani civilians and security forces in recent years. Kabul denies the allegations.
Munir visited Wana town in Pakistan’s South Waziristan district to review the security situation and troops’ operational preparedness at the Afghan border, the Pakistani military’s media wing said in a statement.
“The Field Marshal reiterated that peace could only prevail between both sides if the Afghan Taliban renounced their support for terrorism and terrorist organizations,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
The military chief said the use of Afghan soil by militant outfits to launch attacks against Pakistan was unacceptable, vowing that “all necessary measures” would be taken to neutralize cross-border threats.
During the visit, Munir was briefed by military commanders about ongoing intelligence-based operations and measures being taken by the military to manage the border with Afghanistan.
He was also briefed about “Operation Ghazab Lil Haq” or “Wrath for the Truth,” the name Pakistan has given to its military operation against Afghan forces, the ISPR said.
The Pakistani military chief spoke to troops deployed in the area, praising their vigilance, professional conduct and high morale, the ISPR said.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday that the military has killed 481 Taliban operatives, injured more than 690 and destroyed 226 Afghan checkposts since clashes began.
Arab News has been unable to verify claims by both sides about the damages they claim to have inflicted on each other.
Afghanistan has signaled it is open for dialogue but Pakistan rejected the offer, saying it would continue its military operations till its objectives were achieved.
Since the conflict began, diplomatic efforts have intensified with several countries, including global bodies such as the European Union and United Nations, urging restraint and calling for talks.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that Ankara would help reinstate a ceasefire, the Turkish Presidency said on Tuesday, as other countries that had offered to mediate have since been hit by the conflict in the Gulf.
