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Time of India
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Children in PoK trained for war response as India-Pakistan tensions rise after Pahalgam terror attack
NEW DELHI: As tensions between India and Pakistan soar following the deadly April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 tourists, schools in Pakistan-administered Kashmir have started training children in emergency response drills, converting playgrounds into makeshift first aid camps and evacuation zones. In Muzaffarabad area of PoK, the region's largest city, students can now be seen wearing protective helmets and fluorescent vests as they learn how to treat injuries, escape from buildings, and extinguish fires — all under the looming threat of possible conflict. 'With India threatening us, there's a possibility of war, so we'll all have to support each other,' said 13-year-old Konain Bibi during a first aid session. Authorities say the initiative is aimed at equipping students with basic survival skills amid rising fears of military escalation. 'In an emergency, schools are the first to be affected, which is why we are starting evacuation training with schoolchildren,' said Abdul Basit Moughal, a trainer from Pakistan's Civil Defence directorate. So far, sessions have been conducted in 13 schools and will soon expand to institutions near the Line of Control (LoC), the heavily militarised de facto border between the two nations. Pakistan claims it has 'credible intelligence' of an imminent Indian military strike, a claim that follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi's order granting the Indian military 'complete operational freedom' in response to the Pahalgam terror attack . Islamabad, however, has denied any involvement in the assault. The LoC region, home to around 1.5 million people, has witnessed several nights of cross-border shelling in violation of a ceasefire agreement. In villages like Chakothi, just three kilometres from the border, residents are fortifying underground bunkers and bracing for violence. 'For a week we are living under constant fear,' said local shopkeeper Iftikhar Ahmad Mir. Parents in these areas say their greatest concern is their children's safety. 'We are extremely worried about their safety on the way to school because the area was targeted by the Indian army in the past,' Mir added. 'We make sure they don't roam around after finishing their school and come straight home.' There are more than 6,000 schools, colleges and universities in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, including nearly 1,200 along the LoC. Civil Defence officials said additional rescue personnel will soon be deployed to support schools near the border.
The Star
01-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Children learn emergency drills as Kashmir tensions rise
Workers from Pakistan's Civil Defence Department give first aid training for schoolchildren as tensions rise with India over a deadly attack in disputed Kashmir. - Photo: AFP MUZAFFARABAD, (Pakistan): School playing fields in Pakistan's Kashmir are being transformed into first aid camps for children to learn how to respond if war breaks out with India. Wearing a protective helmet and a fluorescent vest, 13-year-old Konain Bibi listened attentively to her first aid lesson. "With India threatening us, there's a possibility of war, so we'll all have to support each other," she told AFP. Pakistan's government has warned that it has "credible intelligence" that India was planning an imminent military strike. Already frosty relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours have plummeted since a deadly assault on tourists in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir last week. India blames Pakistan for the gun attack that killed 26 people on Tuesday (April 22), with Prime Minister Narendra Modi giving his military "complete operational freedom", although Islamabad has denied any involvement. Muslim-majority Kashmir, a region of around 15 million people, is claimed in full by both Islamabad and New Delhi but is divided between them. There are more than 6,000 schools, colleges and universities on the Pakistan side of the border -- including 1,195 along the Line of Control (LoC), the heavily militarised de facto border separating the disputed territory. Local authorities launched first aid training this week, teaching students how to jump out of a window, use an inflatable evacuation slide, or carry an injured person. - 'Come straight home' - Pakistan and India have exchanged fire at the border for several nights in a row, breaking a ceasefire agreement. In Muzaffarabad, the largest city in Pakistani Kashmir, training sessions have already taken place in 13 schools, according to emergency workers. "In an emergency, schools are the first to be affected, which is why we are starting evacuation training with schoolchildren," Abdul Basit Moughal, a trainer from Pakistan's Civil Defence directorate, told AFP. The agency will deploy its rescue workers to schools bordering the LoC in the coming days. "We're learning to help our friends and provide first aid in case India attacks us," said 12-year-old Faizan Ahmed as students watched an instructor handle a fire extinguisher. Eleven-year-old Ali Raza added: "We have learned how to dress a wounded person, how to carry someone on a stretcher and how to put out a fire." About 1.5 million people live near the Line of Control on the Pakistani side, where residents were preparing for violence by readying simple, mud-walled underground bunkers reinforced with concrete if they could afford it. In Chakothi village, about three kilometres (two miles) from the Line of Control, there are around 30 bunkers for a community of 60 families overlooked by Indian army check posts atop the surrounding green mountains. "For a week we are living under constant fear," said Iftikhar Ahmad Mir, a 44-year-old shopkeeper in Chakothi. "We are extremely worried about their safety on the way to school because the area was targeted by the Indian army in the past," he said of the village's children. "We make sure they don't roam around after finishing their school and come straight home." - AFP
France 24
01-05-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Children learn emergency drills as Kashmir tensions rise
Wearing a protective helmet and a fluorescent vest, 13-year-old Konain Bibi listened attentively to her first aid lesson. "With India threatening us, there's a possibility of war, so we'll all have to support each other," she told AFP. Pakistan's government has warned that it has "credible intelligence" that India was planning an imminent military strike. Already frosty relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours have plummeted since a deadly assault on tourists in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir last week. India blames Pakistan for the gun attack that killed 26 people on April 22, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi giving his military "complete operational freedom", although Islamabad has denied any involvement. Muslim-majority Kashmir, a region of around 15 million people, is claimed in full by both Islamabad and New Delhi but is divided between them. There are more than 6,000 schools, colleges and universities on the Pakistan side of the border -- including 1,195 along the Line of Control (LoC), the heavily militarised de facto border separating the disputed territory. Local authorities launched first aid training this week, teaching students how to jump out of a window, use an inflatable evacuation slide, or carry an injured person. 'Come straight home' Pakistan and India have exchanged fire at the border for several nights in a row, breaking a ceasefire agreement. In Muzaffarabad, the largest city in Pakistani Kashmir, training sessions have already taken place in 13 schools, according to emergency workers. "In an emergency, schools are the first to be affected, which is why we are starting evacuation training with schoolchildren," Abdul Basit Moughal, a trainer from Pakistan's Civil Defence directorate, told AFP. The agency will deploy its rescue workers to schools bordering the LoC in the coming days. "We're learning to help our friends and provide first aid in case India attacks us," said 12-year-old Faizan Ahmed as students watched an instructor handle a fire extinguisher. Eleven-year-old Ali Raza added: "We have learned how to dress a wounded person, how to carry someone on a stretcher and how to put out a fire." In Chakothi village, about three kilometres (two miles) from the Line of Control, there are around 30 bunkers for a community of 60 families overlooked by Indian army check posts atop the surrounding green mountains. "For a week we are living under constant fear," said Iftikhar Ahmad Mir, a 44-year-old shopkeeper in Chakothi. "We are extremely worried about their safety on the way to school because the area was targeted by the Indian army in the past," he said of the village's children.
Int'l Business Times
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Children Learn Emergency Drills As Kashmir Tensions Rise
School playing fields in Pakistan's Kashmir are being transformed into first aid camps for children to learn how to respond if war breaks out with India. Wearing a protective helmet and a fluorescent vest, 13-year-old Konain Bibi listened attentively to her first aid lesson. "With India threatening us, there's a possibility of war, so we'll all have to support each other," she told AFP. Pakistan's government has warned that it has "credible intelligence" that India was planning an imminent military strike. Already frosty relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours have plummeted since a deadly assault on tourists in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir last week. India blames Pakistan for the gun attack that killed 26 people on April 22, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi giving his military "complete operational freedom", although Islamabad has denied any involvement. Muslim-majority Kashmir, a region of around 15 million people, is claimed in full by both Islamabad and New Delhi but is divided between them. There are more than 6,000 schools, colleges and universities on the Pakistan side of the border -- including 1,195 along the Line of Control (LoC), the heavily militarised de facto border separating the disputed territory. Local authorities launched first aid training this week, teaching students how to jump out of a window, use an inflatable evacuation slide, or carry an injured person. Pakistan and India have exchanged fire at the border for several nights in a row, breaking a ceasefire agreement. In Muzaffarabad, the largest city in Pakistani Kashmir, training sessions have already taken place in 13 schools, according to emergency workers. "In an emergency, schools are the first to be affected, which is why we are starting evacuation training with schoolchildren," Abdul Basit Moughal, a trainer from Pakistan's Civil Defence directorate, told AFP. The agency will deploy its rescue workers to schools bordering the LoC in the coming days. "We're learning to help our friends and provide first aid in case India attacks us," said 12-year-old Faizan Ahmed as students watched an instructor handle a fire extinguisher. Eleven-year-old Ali Raza added: "We have learned how to dress a wounded person, how to carry someone on a stretcher and how to put out a fire." In Chakothi village, about three kilometres (two miles) from the Line of Control, there are around 30 bunkers for a community of 60 families overlooked by Indian army check posts atop the surrounding green mountains. "For a week we are living under constant fear," said Iftikhar Ahmad Mir, a 44-year-old shopkeeper in Chakothi. "We are extremely worried about their safety on the way to school because the area was targeted by the Indian army in the past," he said of the village's children. "We make sure they don't roam around after finishing their school and come straight home." India blames Pakistan for an attack that killed 26 people in Indian-administered Kashmire, a charge that Islamabad rejects AFP
