AJK PM laments inaction over LoC shelling.

Byline: Tariq Naqash

MUZAFFARABAD -- It was unfortunate that statements abound on the situation along the Line of Control (LoC), but no action was visible on the ground so far, Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider said on Friday.

'Yesterday, a man and his [12-year-old] son were martyred in Neelum valley. This boy would have become a source of strength for his parents and siblings, but he fell victim to India's naked aggression. A few days ago, another father and son lost their lives in Indian shelling in Nauseri. How long this will go on,' he said, his voice cracking with emotion, at the stone-laying ceremony of a new building for Muzaffarabad Press Club.

Mr Haider said Prime Minister Imran Khan should not think that issuing mere statements in response to Indian shelling was enough.

'Remember, this will create problems in future. This may also cause distance [between the Kashmiris and Pakistan],' he warned.

The AJK premier maintained that statements like 'I have asked troops to remain alert' were not going to bring any solace to the suffering Kashmiris.

'Why don't you strike at their [India's] military positions? If they fire at Jura, why don't you hit back at their brigade headquarters in Tangdhar [across the LoC in Neelum]?'

Mr Haider said the people of Azad Kashmir were mature enough not to be content with 'lollipops'.

He clarified that he was not speaking as a PML-N leader to a PTI leader, but as the prime minister of AJK to the prime minister of Pakistan.

People living along the LoC would continue to offer sacrifices, but at the same time...