Schools reopen in Azad Kashmir after Pakistan-India ceasefire
CHAKOTHI: Schools reopened in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Tuesday after some of the residents of border villages returned home, following a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
The truce was reached after four days of intense exchanges of fire as the old enemies targeted each other's military installations with missiles and drones, killing dozens of civilians.
In the border town of Chakothi near Line of Control (LoC), attendance was thin at schools as many people, who had moved to safer places due to Indian shelling, were still slowly coming back to the area.
'For the past many days, my school remained closed due to [cross-border Indian] shelling,' said Junaid Munir, a 6th-grader.
'Today, it is open. I have to study and get ahead [in life].'
The military confrontation began on May 7, when India said it launched strikes on nine 'terrorist infrastructure' sites in Pakistan and Azad Kashmir, following an attack on Hindu tourists by militants in Indian-administered Kashmir's Pahalgam town that killed 26 men last month.
Islamabad denied any links to the attack and called for a neutral investigation.
A local school principal said some residents were waiting for a more definitive peace solution before considering to move back to their border town homes.
'Some of the children, two or three girls, have arrived so far. But [most] parents and the rest of the people have obviously shifted elsewhere,' said Naveed Akhtar, who heads a school in Chakothi.
'That's why children are not here. The message [about reopening of schools] has been conveyed to them, and, God willing, very soon these children will return to school and our academic system will resume.'
Syeda Zohra Kazmi, who studies in 7th grade, said some mortar shells had partially damaged her home, but she insisted on attending classes as the school reopened on Tuesday.
'There was shelling outside our residence as well, and some shells landed on our house,' she said. 'As the schools got reopened today, I said I will go to school. I am not afraid of shelling.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Thousands protest in Tel Aviv for release of Gaza hostages
TEL AVIV: Thousands of people demonstrated Saturday night in Tel Aviv to demand the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip and a ceasefire after 20 months of war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. The crowd gathered at the so-called Hostages Square chanting 'The people choose the hostages!' and demanding 'a comprehensive deal' for their return, according to a statement from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Earlier on Saturday, Hamas released a photograph of one of the remaining hostages, Matan Zangauker, appearing to be in poor health, with a warning that he would not survive. His mother, Einav Zangauker, speaking at the protest in Tel Aviv, said 'I can no longer bear this nightmare. The angel of death, Netanyahu, continues to sacrifice the hostages,' AFPTV footage showed, referring to the Israeli prime minister. Noam Katz, the daughter of hostage Lior Rudaeff, who has been declared dead but whose body is still in the Gaza Strip, called for an immediate halt to the fighting. 'Do not send more soldiers to risk their lives to bring back our fathers. Bring them back through an agreement. Stop the war!' she declared to the crowd at the square, the Families Forum said. On Friday, the Israeli army announced the death of four soldiers in the Gaza Strip and said it lacked 10,000 troops to meet its needs in the Palestinian territory. Negotiations aimed at ending the fighting, mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States have remained unsuccessful so far. Tal Kupershtein, father of Bar Kupershtein, who was abducted at the age of 21, demanded that his son 'come home now!' 'I call on the prime minister to accept an agreement for the return of all the hostages.' Of the 251 people abducted on October 7, 2023, 55 are still held in the Gaza Strip, at least 31 of whom are dead, according to Israeli authorities.
Al Arabiya
6 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Thousands march in Rome to protest ‘complicity' on Gaza war
Hundreds of thousands of people marched through the streets of Rome on Saturday to protest the war in Gaza in a rally called by opposition parties denouncing the government's alleged 'complicity' in the conflict. 'Stop the massacre, stop complicity!' read a wide banner held by protestors at the start of the march, amid a sea of red, white and green Palestinian flags, peace flags and 'Free Palestine' signs. The peaceful protest attracted a massive crowd -- estimated by organizers at 300,000 people. Police had not provided official size estimates. It made its way from Rome's central Piazza Vittorio to San Giovanni, where speakers took to a stage to urge an end to the violence and denounce what some called the silence of the far-right Italian government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, called the turnout 'an enormous popular response' in opposition to the war. Italy's Five Star Movement and the Greens-Left Alliance were also behind the protest. The demonstration was 'to say enough to the massacre of Palestinians, to say enough to the crimes of Netanyahu's far-right government' and to show the world 'another Italy', Schlein told journalists. 'An Italy that does not keep silent as the Meloni government does, an Italy that instead wants peace, wants an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, humanitarian aid, and wants recognition of the state of Palestine,' she said. Israel has come under increasing international criticism over the dire humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory, where the United Nations warned in May that the entire population was at risk of famine. In Italy, Meloni has been pushed by the opposition to condemn the actions of Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu in Gaza, but her criticism has been tempered. Last month, Meloni called the humanitarian situation 'increasingly dramatic and unjustifiable' and said she had had 'often difficult conversations' with Netanyahu, while at the same time noting that 'it was not Israel that started the hostilities.' Many protesters came from across Italy to participate in the demonstration in the capitol, including Gabriella Branca, a lawyer from Genoa. 'It's unbearable to witness the massacre of 60,000 people, including 20,000 children. We have to say enough,' the 67-year-old told AFP. 'In other countries, as you know, demonstrations have drawn millions of people, so I hope that today in Rome we can send a signal to all of Italy, so that everyone takes to the streets to say enough and above all, to try to find peace,' she said.
Asharq Al-Awsat
7 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
UK and India Discuss ‘Counter-Terrorism' Cooperation After Pakistan Ceasefire
Britain and India on Saturday discussed expanding their "counter-terrorism" collaboration following recent fighting between India and Pakistan, Britain's foreign minister told Reuters after meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. British foreign minister David Lammy is the highest-profile Western official to have visited both New Delhi and Islamabad since the South Asian neighbors agreed to a ceasefire last month after their worst fighting in nearly three decades. The latest tensions began in April after the killing of 26 men in Indian Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on "terrorists" backed by Pakistan, a charge Islamabad denied. India then attacked what it called "terrorist infrastructure" in Pakistan, leading to escalation from both sides until a May 10 ceasefire. "We want the situation to be maintained, but of course we recognize fragility, particularly in the backdrop of terrorism, terrorism designed to destabilize India," Lammy said in an interview at the residence of the British High Commissioner in New Delhi. "We are keen to continue to work with our Indian partners on counter-terrorism measures." He said he discussed the next steps with both Modi and Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, but gave no specifics. Last year, India and Britain discussed combating the financing of terrorism, cooperation between law enforcement and judicial bodies and information sharing. Lammy said he also discussed boosting trade between the world's fifth and sixth largest economies. The countries concluded talks for a free trade deal early last month. "I know that Prime Minister Keir Starmer is very much looking forward to coming to India very soon to sign the free trade agreement," Lammy said. "There is so much that our two nations can continue to do together."
