SRINAGAR: Announcing a special relief package for LoC residents hit by recent Pakistani shelling, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that in addition to the existing 90,000 underground bunkers, further steps will be taken to enhance the safety and welfare of border communities.
Addressing a gathering in this frontier town after distributing appointment letters to the family members of those killed in the shelling, the Union Home Minister said the administration is assessing the damage in affected areas, including Poonch, and that the Central Government will provide all possible support to the victims’ families.
He stated that while no compensation or government job can truly make up for the loss these families have endured, the initiative reflects the solidarity and support of the Jammu and Kashmir administration, the Centre, and the people of India.
Shah said that 90,000 bunkers have already been built along the LoC and that more will be constructed to safeguard civilians.
He added that the Indian Army had carried out Operation Sindoor, targeting and destroying terrorist infrastructure across the border. The operation, he clarified, was aimed solely at terror camps and not against civilians or security personnel in Pakistan.
In retaliation, Shah said, Pakistan resorted to shelling that struck civilian areas in Jammu and Kashmir, including religious sites.
He further stated that the Indian Armed Forces subsequently destroyed nine airbases in Pakistan, after which Pakistan requested a ceasefire. “India will not tolerate any terrorist activity on its soil,” Shah asserted.
The Home Minister said the administration, including the Lieutenant Governor and local officials, responded swiftly by relocating people from affected areas to safer locations and providing necessary aid.
According to Shah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made it clear that there can be no dialogue with Pakistan until it halts support for terrorism.
“Terror and trade cannot go together, and blood and water cannot flow together. This is our policy, and we will fight every terrorist activity on our soil,” he said.
Referring to the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, Shah said the unified stand of the people of Jammu and Kashmir against terrorism sent a strong message that such acts would not be tolerated.
He also emphasised that development in the region would continue as it has since 2014, and that security forces would maintain their operations against terrorism. “Development in Kashmir is ongoing and will continue in the same way. No one can stop it. Kashmir will keep progressing while security forces will continue to eliminate every terrorist as they have been doing,” he said. (KNO)
