Kashmiris return to homes, but keep bunkers stocked
Pakistan
A senior officer in Muzaffarabad said there had been no reports of firing since Sunday morning
CHAKOTHI (Pakistan) (AFP) – As calm settled over villages in Azad Kashmir on Sunday, families returned to their own beds but were sure to leave their bunkers stocked.
Dozens of people were killed in four days of intense conflict between arch-rivals Pakistan and India before a US-brokered truce was announced on Saturday.
On the Line of Control (LoC), families wearied by decades of sporadic firing began to return home -- for now.
"I have absolutely no faith in India; I believe it will strike again. For people living in this area, it's crucial to build protective bunkers near their homes," said Kala Khan, a resident of Chakothi which overlooks the Neelum River that separates the two sides and from where they can see Indian military posts.
His eight-member family sheltered through the night and parts of the day under the 20-inch-thick concrete roofs of two bunkers.
"Whenever there was Indian shelling, I would take my family into it," he said of the past few days.
"We've stored mattresses, flour, rice, other food supplies, and even some valuable belongings in there."
According to an administrative officer in the region, more than a thousand bunkers have been built along the LoC, around a third by the government, to protect civilians from Indian shelling.
In Chakothi, nestled among lush green mountains, surrounded by an abundance of walnut trees at the foothills, half of the 300 shops were closed and few people ventured onto the streets.
A senior administrative officer stationed in Muzaffarabad, where a mosque was struck by an Indian missile killing three people, told AFP there had been no reports of firing since Sunday morning.
