Food rations distributed in Azad Kashmir areas as India's war hysteria grows
Pakistan
The Food Department has planned for food security in areas vulnerable to shelling in case of war
MUZAFFARABAD (Reuters) – Workers moved large sacks of flour onto a truck at a mill in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Kashmir, on Saturday as the local government ordered ration replenishment for two months instead of a previous order for one month.
Azad Kashmir’s Minister for Food, Akbar Ibrahim, told Reuters he had directed the Food Department to prepare plans to avoid any shortage of food supplies in areas vulnerable to shelling in the event of an escalation of tensions with India.
The latest crisis between the nuclear-armed neighbours was sparked by a deadly attack on tourists in the Indian-occupied Kashmir last week that saw suspected militants kill at least 26 people.
India has accused Pakistan of involvement in the attack, which Islamabad denies. Pakistan has said it has "credible intelligence" that India intends to launch military action.
A senior official at the Food Department, Abdul Hameed Kiani, said there were sufficient flour stocks at all depots located along the Line of Control, however, Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq directed them to increase the storage capacity to cover a two-month period, according to Kiani.
The Muslim-majority Himalayan region is claimed by both India and Pakistan, and has been the focus of several wars, an independence movement in Indian-occupied part and diplomatic standoffs.
