Minister Dhaliwal tours border area villages to boost morale of residents
Amidst the rising Indo-Pak tension in the wake of Pahalgam attack in Kashmir, Punjab Minister for NRI Affairs, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal today held meetings with farmers, labourers, village panchayats and social service organisations, including the general public, in about a dozen villages located near the Indo-Pak border in Ajnala sub-division.
Dhaliwal assured them that the government was committed to the safety of residents living in the 553-km long border belt of Punjab sharing its borders with Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the situation in the border area of Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts was found to be normal with residents performing their daily chores as per their routine.
Amidst rumours of tension and reports surfacing that the announcements were being made from gurdwaras asking the residents to remain alert, BSF officials confirmed that there was no official communication to any gurdwara to make such announcements.
No such announcements could be made as it can lead to undue panic among the civilians for no reason, said a BSF official preferring anonymity.
Echoing a similar view, farmer leader Rattan Singh Randhawa said there is absolutely no panic-like situation as was being reported in a section of the media.
An identical situation was found in the border villages of Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts.
Nonetheless, Dhaliwal who visited the border villages including Ghohnewala, Macchiwala, Sehzada, Jatta-Pachhia, Singhoke, Nisoke, Gaggar, Panj Garian Wahla, Nangal Sohal and Dhangai, today condemned the Pahalgam attack and called upon people to lead their lives as usual.
He said that people of the villages living near the international border were in high spirits. The farmers and labourers were taking care of wheat and straw in the border villages with complete restraint and without fear.
“Communal harmony has been maintained despite the anger against the Pahalgam attack. In Punjab, there has been no incident of communal mistreatment against Kashmiri traders and teachers working in private institutions and students studying in educational institutions,” he said.
The minister also clarified that if Pakistan, as part of its nefarious designs, dared to commit any war-like act on the border, then the civilians residing on the Punjab border in Punjab would assist the BSF and Army as the second line of defence. “Our forces are capable of countering the Pakistani army more than they did in the wars of 1965 and 1971,” he said.
In Tarn Taran, during a visit to Naushehra, Dhala and other adjoining villages, the farmers said though they have completed harvesting, but work was on to manage stubble which would be converted into dry fodder.
Manjinder Singh Manna of Naushehra village said that though there were some anxious moments when the Pahalgam terror attack occurred on Tuesday, the situation now tends to be normal. “We pray that no war-like situation should develop and things get normalised through a dialogue between the two neighbouring countries keeping in view the interest of common citizens of both the sides,” he said.
Baba Ajit Singh (78), head Sewadar of Baba Jogi Peer, Chahal, a witness to the 1962 Chinese aggression and the 1965, 1971 (Indo-Pak wars) and 1999 Kargil war said it would be people living in the border belt who would be affected first if war takes place.
“I remember the suffering when residents are displaced as a security measure as it takes years to settle down again. I pray that it is not repeated,” he said.
Amritsar