Border area residents wary, cite plunder in past wars

Residents of villages situated along the India-Pakistan border here feared massive disruption to their lives in case a war breaks out between the two countries in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.

Recalling horrors of previous wars, several villagers said they were forced to leave their homes unguarded following the military build-up along the border, also resulting in restrictions on movement and economic hardships.

Octogenarian Pragat Singh, former sarpanch of Pucca village, said during the 1965 War, his family had to incur financial losses when their belongings were looted after they left their house unattended and shifted to a relative’s place.

During the 1971 India-Pakistan War, he, along with some of his neighbours, camped in the village to prevent a repeat of the previous experience while members of their families shifted to safer locations. Shamsher Singh, another resident of Pucca village, said they had shifted to safer places after the Pulwama terror strike on a CRPF convoy in 2019.

A resident of Neshta village, Paramjit Singh, slammed statements by politicians, which he said were bringing both neighbouring countries to the brink of another war.

He recalled that now-closed integrated check-post at the Attari-Wagah crossing between the two countries once used to offer direct employment to over 1,400 porters and hundreds of truckers.

Sukhchain Singh, a porter and a resident of Attari, said the Pahalgam terror attack was a despicable act and the culprits should be brought to book, but at the same time, the situation should not result in a war.

Border Area Sangarsh Committee president Rattan Singh Randhawa said, “The indo-Gangetic plain is one of the most populated regions in the world. Any conflict between the two neighbouring countries will have catastrophic repercussions for people, especially impoverished ones.”

Punjab