Indian border villagers want recompense for damages in Pakistan clashes

JAMMU/SRINAGAR - Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan are maintaining a ceasefire that ended four days of intense military clashes, but many in the Indian-ruled part of disputed Kashmir are demanding compensation for

damages from cross-border firing

.

Hundreds of villagers evacuated their homes as the rivals targeted each other’s military installations with missiles and drones, killing about 70 civilians, after New Delhi struck what it called terrorist camps across the border.

Many returned to find their homes destroyed or roofless.

“Where will we go with our kids? We don’t have anywhere to live and anything to eat,” said Mr Roshan Lal, from the village of Kot Maira in Akhnoor in India’s district of Jammu, about 7km from the de facto border.

The shelling had left his home uninhabitable, the 47-year-old added.

“I want to ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government for justice,” he said. “We need compensation for the damages.”

In the nearby village of Pahari Wala, farmer Karan Singh said he buried seven cattle in his field, while his family are living in makeshift shelters.

“I left the village when the conflict began,” he said. “We don’t have a place to stay.”

In Salamabad, a border village in the Kashmir Valley, shelling injured Mr Badrudin Naik and his six-year-old son, but both returned home after five days.

“I am happy to return,” he said. “But my house is damaged. My two uncles’ houses were completely destroyed. We want a permanent peace as it is we on the border who suffer more.”

Hindu-majority India and Muslim Pakistan, which both rule part of Kashmir but claim it in full, have fought two of their three wars over the region and engaged in several smaller clashes over the decades.

Teams have fanned out in the region to assess damage to homes, shops and other facilities, said a senior local government official, who sought anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to media.

“Today, our teams have gone to the areas which were affected,” he said, adding, “The government will decide the amount of compensation.”

On May 12, Mr Modi warned Pakistan that New Delhi would target “terrorist hideouts” across the border again if there were new attacks on India. Pakistan denies Indian accusations of supporting militants who attack India.

Standing in front of the cracked wall of his Pahari Wala home, Mr Joginder Lal said Mr Modi should ignore US President Donald Trump, who announced the ceasefire, saying Washington had played a role in halting the fighting.

“We want to take full revenge against Pakistan,” the 60-year-old added. REUTERS