PoK starts evacuation plan amid LoC ceasefire violations

The government of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) has readied evacuation plan to relocate locals to safe areas due to recent "provocation" by Indian forces at the Line of Control (LoC), a media report said on Sunday.

The decision has been taken amidst no let-up in LoC ceasefire violations by the Indian forces in the recent days, the Express Tribune quoted local government sources as saying.

PoK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider has directed the district machinery and local authorities in the areas located along LoC to make standby arrangements for relocating thousands of people whose lives have come under direct threat after the tension at border, the paper reported.

On a small-scale, the public in the villages directly affected by LoC firing have been relocated. Further the evacuation activities would be extended to the sector-level if LoC ceasefire violations did not stop, the paper said.

"The instances of ceasefire violations by the Indian forces recorded an alarming increase since the start of the month February" following which the government has readied evacuation plan, the paper quoted a cabinet member as saying.

Last week, Haider instructed authorities to give state funerals to those killed due to alleged firing by Indian troops across the Line of Control.