Afghanistan rebukes Pakistan envoy in ripple effect from Kashmir attack


SRINAGAR: A Kashmiri girl makes her way back to home from school in the border town of Chakothi in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, some 3 km from Line of Control (LoC). — AFP

CHAKOTHI: Bunkers are being rebuilt and a blackout has been ordered, but schools and bazaars remained open yesterday in Chakothi, a border village in Pakistani-held Kashmir, after a deadly attack sent tensions with neighboring India soaring. Residents were worried but life was going on in the village of some 3,000 inhabitants just three kilometers (two miles) from the "Line of Control", the de facto border which divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

Schoolchildren attended classes as usual and customers crowded the markets and stalls of the bazaar.

India and Pakistan, both nuclear powers, have been fighting for seven decades over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, now one of the most militarized zones in the world.

Tensions have spiraled in recent days following a suicide attack in Indian-held Kashmir that killed 41 Indian paramilitaries and was claimed by Islamist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), based in Pakistan.

Many observers expect Indian retaliation in the coming days. Pakistan has promised to fight back if it is attacked. Shabbir Ahmed Pirzada, a resident of Chakothi, decided to rehabilitate an old bunker next to his house that was first built in 2000, when the Indian army frequently bombarded the area.

Chakothi has not been touched since a ceasefire was declared in 2003.

"God forbid, if such situation develops, we can save ourselves in the bunker. We are not afraid, as we have seen Indian shelling in the past," he said.

'Mischievous action'
Local authorities have encouraged residents in areas near the Line of Control to take additional precautions against the risk of "mischievous action" by the Indian army. "Bunkers should be constructed in areas where they don't exist. Unnecessary lighting should be avoided after sunset and people should refrain from travelling on roads located close to LoC," the local disaster management agency has warned residents. "We are scared for our children when they go to school," said Jamila Kathoon, a housewife, pointing out that the local school had been hit by shelling in the past.
"We had built bunkers in our mud houses in the past, for our safety. Now we have houses with tin roofs, which are not safe. There will be more loss if there is shelling in the area," added another resident, Zaheer Ahmed.

"We are very worried," he said. Others are worried about the economic consequences of the crisis.

The cross-border bus service serving both sides of Kashmir since 2005, as well as modest barter operations implemented in 2008 as part of peace efforts, were partially halted this week by Delhi.

"There will be huge losses to the traders… The two countries should find a political solution to the Kashmir issue," said Jan Muhammad, a Kashmiri trader.

Afghanistan response
Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry summoned the Pakistani ambassador on Wednesday over his remarks that Afghan peace talks could be affected if India resorted to violence after last week's attack on Indian paramilitary police in Kashmir. In a statement issued after the meeting with Ambassador Zahid Nasrullah, the Foreign Ministry said it deemed his comments to be "in contradiction with Pakistan's commitments with regards to realizing peace in Afghanistan".

Tensions between India and Pakistan have risen sharply since the suicide bomb attack in the disputed Kashmir region, which the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad militant group claimed responsibility for. India has blamed Pakistan, saying Islamabad has not done enough to control militants based on its soil.

Pakistani authorities have denied any involvement in the attack. Nasrullah said on Tuesday that any attack by India would "affect the stability of the entire region and impact the momentum" of the Afghan peace effort.

US envoys say Pakistan has an important role to play in the peace effort, given its links to the Taleban. At the same time, a former deputy Afghan defence minister said on Tuesday that Nasrullah's remarks would anger local government officials, saying it played into fears that the country's long-running civil war is a proxy for rivalries by regional powers.

The Afghan statement said the government "once again calls on Pakistan to act upon its commitments with regards to Afghanistan, particularly those in relation to peace and refrain from making irrelevant statements that do not help solve any problem".

Afghanistan's deputy foreign minister, Idrees Zaman, earlier tweeted that Nasrullah had been summoned and handed a diplomatic demarche.-Agencies