DATE=2/11/2000
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=PAKISTAN / LINE OF CONTROL
NUMBER=5-45429
BYLINE=JIM TEEPLE
DATELINE=ISLAMABAD
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: In recent weeks there has been a noticeable
rise in tensions along the so-called "line of
control," which divides Kashmir between India and
Pakistan. Shelling and mortar fire by both Indian
and Pakistan troops on opposite sides of the "line of
control" is an almost daily occurrence. This has meant
increased hardship for the people who inhabit the
mountain valleys of Kashmir that are divided by the
"line of control." VOA's Jim Teeple has visited such
a village on the Pakistani side of the LOC where he
reports people go about their lives with the knowledge
that every day could be their last.
TEXT: // ACT OF SHUTTERS BEING CLOSED.EST. AND FADE
UNDER TEXT //
TEXT: Storekeepers close their shutters early in the
small village of Chakothi. There are few customers,
shopping at the handful of stores that line Chakothi's
one muddy, potholed street. The street runs through
the center of the village up to a Pakistani military
barrier adorned with a large skull and crossbones.
Beyond the barrier, just 800 meters away is another
military barrier - but one manned by Indian troops.
In between the two barriers lies the "line of
control," which for a generation has divided Kashmir.
Chakothi lies in just one of the many beautiful
valleys of Kashmir. On either side are steep forests
and snowcapped mountains. Concealed in the forests
overlooking Chakothi from the Indian side of the
valley are artillery and mortar pieces that rain down
death and destruction on Chakothi.
The story is the same for villages on the Indian side
of the "line of control." In recent weeks scores of
civilians have been killed on both sides as Pakistan
and India have traded artillery and mortar fire back
and forth. Kusheed, a schoolteacher in the village who
declines to give his last name, says just three days
earlier more than 600 mortar shells landed in and
around the village. Standing in front of a row of
shops destroyed by shelling he says the people of
Chakothi have had their lives disrupted by the
shelling.
// KURSHEED ACTUALITY //
Due to firing they cannot go here and there. People
live in their houses, they cannot go to the market to
buy essential things for their lives. The people who
live on the front lines cannot go into their fields -
they cannot cut their crops. The Indian Army fire has
damaged many houses.
// END ACTUALITY //
// OPT // Tensions are always high on the "line of
control," but have increased recently in the wake of
the hijacking of an Indian airlines plane in December.
India says Pakistan was involved in the hijacking - a
charge Pakistan vehemently denies. The accusations
and counter-accusations are punctuated by artillery
and mortar shells crashing into villages like Chakothi
on both sides of the "line of control." The shelling
takes its toll. On average about 20 people are killed
every year in and around Chakothi from the firing. //
END OPT //
Anyone who can, leaves Chakothi. Many of the village
men have migrated to Saudi Arabia or the Gulf States
to work as laborers. Others travel the 58
kilometers to Muzafarabad, the capital of Pakistan's
part of Kashmir or to other parts of Pakistan.
Roshan Mughal is a local reporter in Muzafarabad who
travels back to see his remaining family members in
Chakothi about twice a month. Recently he had to
bring his mother and some nieces and nephews to
Muzafarabad to stay with him when shelling became too
intense and too dangerous for them to stay in
Chakothi. Showing a visitor his family's homemade
bunker he says Chakothi's residents pay close
attention to where the shells are falling before
moving into their bunkers.
// MUGHAL ACTUALITY //
When there is firing between Pakistan and India on the
"line of control," people do not go into their
bunkers. But when firing shifts to the local
population - when the Indian firing starts to hit some
houses then people take refuge in these bunkers.
// END ACTUALITY //
Roshan Mughal says some people are reluctant to use
the bunkers - afraid that a direct hit might cause
them to collapse. Despite their almost daily bouts
of terror he says most people in Chakothi have gotten
used to the shelling. Roshan Mughal says even his
nieces and nephews don't mind it too much - except
when the shells get so close their bunker starts to
shake. (Signed)
neb/jlt/plm
11-Feb-2000 05:25 AM EDT (11-Feb-2000 1025 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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