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Since the start of the school year in March, Afghan boys have been required to wear new uniforms of turbans and long tunics, following an order to adopt outfits reflecting Taliban rule.The Taliban government’s education ministry cites strengthening discipline, masking social inequalities and promoting what the authorities see as true Islamic attire as reasons for the dress code change — a move that has sparked division.”Islam has preserved and strengthened the standards of modesty and dignity by paying attention to clothing. Sharia clothing defines the identity of a Muslim male and female,” the ministry said in its directive.”Sharia clothing is a means to preserve the dignity of the individual and protect the society against moral degradation.”Before the Taliban authorities swept back to power in 2021, the shalwar kameez and turban — traditional wear in the region — were uncommon in academic or professional settings. Since their return, the streets of Kabul and other areas have become more uniform, with many men opting for the monochrome loose trousers and long tunic.Once mostly limited to religious schools, the shalwar kameez with a turban or hat are now mandatory for all students, whether in public or private schools.Girls are already from a young age required to wear uniforms, often a long black dress over matching trousers with a white headscarf, but can no longer study past primary school in non-religious institutions.- ‘Turned away’ -Male students must wear a light blue shalwar kameez along with a cap up to the age of around 15, afterwards donning white and wearing a turban.The rule — ordered by the Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada — took time to be enforced and is still implemented unevenly across the country.In western Herat, student Nassir Ahmad said few pupils wore the new uniform at the start of the school year, but now they have no choice.”Our teachers told us not to come without it. If we don’t have the uniform and the cap, we can’t enter the classroom,” the 13-year-old told AFP.”I saw several of my friends turned away because they didn’t have a turban on,” said 17-year-old Qassim.He said morality police from the department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice came to the schools to ensure the rules are being followed.In the Taliban heartland of southern Kandahar, several students told AFP they were pleased with their new clothing.Mohammad Wali, a student at the Mahmoud Tarzi school, said he was “very happy” to wear the “Prophet’s clothing”.”It distinguishes students from other people in the street,” said the 17-year-old.In the capital Kabul, some students wear the turban while at school, only to stuff it into their bags as soon as they leave. – Too expensive -Among teachers and school principals — also told to swap their suits and ties or casual clothes for shalwar kameez and a black turban — some disapproved of the measure.”Today, everyone looks the same. A doctor no longer looks like a doctor and a cook no longer looks like a cook,” said the principal of a Kabul school, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity.”The uniform does create discipline,” the principal conceded, having swapped out his suit and tie nearly four years ago to avoid trouble.But for some families, he said, paying the average 1,000 Afghanis ($14) per uniform is a burden in a country where 85 percent of the population lives on less than a dollar a day, according the UN.”If a family has five or six children, how are they supposed to manage?” he asked.Students now wear their new uniforms in often dilapidated schools with meager resources.In remote areas, lessons are sometimes held outdoors under the shade of a tree. The Kabul principal said at first he didn’t sanction students out of uniform, but now education ministry officials show up at his school two to three times a week to check whether students are complying.”People in Afghanistan have no choice,” he said. “They obey and cannot complain.”strs-cgo/sw/dhc

Pakistan’s information minister said Wednesday that Islamabad had “credible intelligence” that India was planning an imminent military strike and he vowed a “decisive response”, as worries of spiralling conflict grew over a deadly attack in Kashmir.The statement by Attaullah Tarar came after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a closed-door meeting the previous day with army and security chiefs, at which he gave the military “complete operational freedom” to respond to the attack, a senior government source told AFP.”Pakistan has credible intelligence that India intends to launch a military strike within the next 24 to 36 hours using the Pahalgam incident as a false pretext,” Tarar said in a statement.Pahalgam is a tourist hub in Indian-administered Kashmir where 26 men were killed on April 22, the deadliest attack on civilians in the contested region in years.India has accused Pakistan of supporting the attack, a claim Islamabad has rejected.”Any act of aggression will be met with a decisive response,” said Tarar. “India will be fully responsible for any serious consequences in the region!”The development comes as nations around the world, from neighbouring China to the United States, express deep concerns and urge restraint by the nuclear-armed neighbours.India’s army on Wednesday said it had repeatedly traded gunfire with Pakistani troops for a sixth night in a row across the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto Kashmir border, a heavily fortified zone of high-altitude Himalayan outposts.The army reported “small arms firing” in multiple sites, but with no reported casualties. Pakistan’s military did not confirm the shooting, but state radio in Islamabad reported on Tuesday it had shot down an Indian drone, calling it a violation of its airspace.It did not say when the incident happened, and there was no comment from New Delhi.- ‘Ends of the Earth’ -Tensions have been rapidly mounting in the week since the Pahalgam attack, with tit-for-tat diplomatic barbs, expulsion of citizens and land border crossings shut.Last week, Modi vowed to pursue those who carried out the attack, and those who had supported it.”I say to the whole world: India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backer,” he said on Thursday.”We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth”.The bellicose statements have prompted worries of a spiral into military action, with calls from several nations for restraint.The US State Department said top diplomat Marco Rubio would call his Pakistani and Indian counterparts soon to urge them “to not escalate the situation”.UN chief Antonio Guterres meanwhile held calls Tuesday with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in which he “offered his Good Offices to support de-escalation”, his spokesman said.Sharif’s office later said he had urged Guterres to “counsel India” to exercise restraint, while pledging to defend Pakistan’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity with full force in case of any misadventure by India”.Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947. Both claim the territory in full.Rebels in the Indian-run area have waged an insurgency since 1989, seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan.Indian police have issued wanted posters for three men accused of carrying out the Kashmir attack — two Pakistanis and an Indian — who they say are members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group, a UN-designated terrorist organisation.They have announced a two million rupee ($23,500) bounty for information leading to each man’s arrest and carried out sweeping detentions seeking anyone suspected of links to the alleged killers.The worst attack in recent years in Indian-run Kashmir was at Pulwama in 2019, when a suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into a security forces convoy, killing 40 and wounding 35.Indian fighter jets carried out air strikes on Pakistani territory 12 days later.Iran has already offered to mediate and Saudi Arabia has said Riyadh was trying to “prevent an escalation”.US President Donald Trump downplayed tensions, saying on Friday the dispute will get “figured out, one way or another”.burs-pjm/mtp

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given the military “operational freedom” to respond to a deadly attack in Kashmir that New Delhi has blamed on arch-rival Pakistan, a senior government source told AFP Tuesday.A week after the deadliest attack on civilians in the contested region in years, Modi on Tuesday held a closed-door meeting with army and security chiefs, during which he granted “complete operational freedom to decide on the mode, targets and timing of our response to the terror attack”, said the government source, who was not authorised to speak to the media.The development comes as nations around the world, from neighbouring China to the United States, express deep concerns over the nuclear-armed neighbors’ mounting tensions and urge restraint.India’s army on Tuesday also said it had repeatedly traded gunfire with Pakistani troops across the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto Kashmir border, a heavily fortified zone of high-altitude Himalayan outposts.Pakistan’s military did not confirm the shooting, but state radio in Islamabad reported on Tuesday it had shot down an Indian drone, calling it a violation of its airspace.It did not say when the incident happened, and there was no comment from New Delhi.India said the “Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked small arms firing across the Line of Control” overnight Monday to Tuesday, the fifth night in a row that fire was exchanged there.The Indian army said its troops had “responded in a measured and effective manner to the provocation”. There were no reports of casualties.- ‘Ends of the Earth’ -Relations have plummeted after India accused Pakistan of backing an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22 in which 26 men were killed.Islamabad has rejected the charge and both countries have since exchanged gunfire in Kashmir and diplomatic barbs, as well as expelled citizens and ordered the main land border crossing shut.Last week, Modi vowed to pursue those who carried out the attack in the tourist hotspot of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, and those who had supported it.”I say to the whole world: India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backer,” he said on Thursday.”We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth”.The bellicose statements have prompted worries of a rapid spiral into military action, with calls from several nations for restraint.The US State Department said top diplomat Marco Rubio would call his Pakistani and Indian counterparts soon to urge them “to not escalate the situation.”UN chief Antonio Guterres meanwhile held calls Tuesday with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in which he “offered his Good Offices to support de-escalation”, his spokesman said.Sharif’s office later said he had urged Guterres to “counsel India” to exercise restraint, while pledging to defend Pakistan’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity with full force in case of any misadventure by India”.Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947. Both claim the territory in full.Rebels in the Indian-run area have waged an insurgency since 1989, seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan.Indian police have issued wanted posters for three men accused of carrying out the Kashmir attack — two Pakistanis and an Indian — who they say are members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group, a UN-designated terrorist organisation.They have announced a two million rupee ($23,500) bounty for information leading to each man’s arrest and carried out sweeping detentions seeking anyone suspected of links to the alleged killers.The worst attack in recent years in Indian-run Kashmir was at Pulwama in 2019, when an insurgent rammed a car packed with explosives into a security forces convoy, killing 40 and wounding 35.Indian fighter jets carried out air strikes on Pakistani territory 12 days later.Iran has already offered to mediate and Saudi Arabia has said Riyadh was trying to “prevent an escalation”.US President Donald Trump downplayed tensions, saying on Friday the dispute will get “figured out, one way or another”.burs-pjm/sco/des/md

West Indies’ Sunil Narine put in a fine all-round performance to keep holders Kolkata Knight Riders alive in the IPL with a tense 14-run win over Delhi Capitals on Tuesday.Narine smashed 27 off 16 balls in Kolkata’s 204-9 and then returned figures of 3-29 with his mystery spin to restrict the opposition to 190-9 at Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla ground.Delhi’s South African star Faf du Plessis top-scored with 62 off 45 balls, but his knock was in vain as the hosts regularly lost wickets.Delhi are fourth in the 10-team table. Kolkata, who won their third title last year, stay seventh with four wins and five defeats.The top four teams at the end of the league phase will move into the play-offs of the popular and lucrative T20 tournament.Du Plessis hit back for Delhi after Abishek Porel’s early departure, but Kolkata had the opposition in trouble at 60-3 when KL Rahul was run out off a direct hit by Narine.Du Plessis, who returned to the team in the previous match after missing four games due to injury, raised his fifty in 31 balls and put on 76 runs with skipper Axar Patel, who hit a quickfire 43.Narine broke the stand to get Axar back in the dugout and five balls later bowled Tristan Stubbs for one to tilt the game in KKR’s favour.He then got the prized wicket of Du Plessis in his final over to dim Delhi’s hopes, but Vipraj Nigam smashed 38 off 19 balls to keep the chase alive until the last over when he fell to Andre Russell.Earlier, Narine and fellow opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz set it up for Kolkata in their brisk stand of 48 from 18 balls.Narine got off the mark with a first-ball six off Sri Lankan pace bowler Dushmantha Chameera and along with Gurbaz got 25 runs from the second over.Starc got Afghanistan’s Gurbaz caught behind for 26.Delhi struck back when leg-spinner Nigam trapped Narine lbw in his first over and Axar had skipper Ajinkya Rahane, who made a 14-ball 26, lbw with his left-arm spin.Angkrish Raghuvanshi, a 20-year-old up and coming batter who made 44, stood firm and, with Rinku Singh, added 61 runs.Chameera denied Raghuvanshi his fifty and Nigam cut short Rinku’s knock on 36 in the next over.Russell, who turned 37 on Tuesday, took the team past 200 with a six off Mitchell Starc, who roared back with two wickets in two balls in the 20th over but the hat-trick was avoided.Australia’s left-arm quick Starc trapped Rovman Powell lbw and then dismissed Anukul Roy for a duck with Chameera taking a stunner in the deep as he dived full length to take the catch.

Bangladesh opener Shadman Islam smashed a century in the second Test against Zimbabwe on Tuesday, giving the hosts a lead of 64 runs at the end of the second day with three wickets in hand.Bangladesh were 291-7 at the close, with Mehidy Hasan Miraz (16) and Taijul Islam (5) remaining not out, in response to Zimbabwe’s first innings total of 227. Shadman recorded a career-best knock of 120 and partnered with Anamul Haque in a first-wicket stand of 118 runs, only the 10th time that Bangladesh’s openers had passed the 100-run mark in Tests. Despite Shadman’s century, the other batsmen failed to exploit the dry and slow surface at Chattogram after a good start.Anamul, who was making a comeback to the Test team after three years, scored 39.Mominul Haque (33) and Mushfiqur Rahim (40) have also struggled to convert good starts into big scores.Mushfiqur, who failed to pass the 50-run mark in the past 12 innings, was run out by Wessly Madhevere.Bangladesh were 259-3 at one point but then lost their next four wickets for 20 runs. Vincent Masekesa, Zimbabwe’s debutant leg-spinner, took three wickets, including those of Bangladesh’s captain Najmul Hossain Shanto and wicketkeeper batter Jaker Ali. Zimbabwe were earlier dismissed on their overnight score of 227.Resuming with one wicket in hand, their innings was wrapped up with Taijul’s first ball of the second day.Taijul finished with figures of 6-60.Zimbabwe are 1-0 up in the two-Test series after winning the opener in Sylhet by three wickets.Brief scores: Zimbabwe: 227 all out (Sean Williams 67, Nick Welch 54; Taijul Islam 6-60, Nayeem Hasan 2-42). Bangladesh: 291-7 (Shadman Islam 120, Mushfiqur Rahim 40; Vincent Masekesa 3-44)Toss: Zimbabwe

Vaibhav Suryavanshi was touted as Indian cricket’s next superstar on Tuesday after the 14-year-old’s IPL century off 35 balls shattered batting records.Left-handed opener Suryavanshi became the youngest player to hit a Twenty20 hundred in Rajasthan Royals’ thumping eight-wicket win over Gujarat Titans on Monday. “It is like a dream,” the teenager said.In only his third Indian Premier League match, he scored the second-fastest century in competition history, second only to Chris Gayle’s 30-ball ton in 2013.Nicknamed “Boss Baby”, Suryavanshi has drawn instant comparisons with West Indies great Gayle, who styled himself as the “Universe Boss”.Suryavanshi, who made headlines when bought by Rajasthan for $130,500 after a bidding war at the November auction when aged 13, has been fearless in the face of seasoned opponents.He announced himself on debut earlier this month by launching his first ball in the IPL for six off experienced India pace bowler Shardul Thakur on his way to a quickfire 34 off 20 balls.Nine days later in Jaipur, Suryavanshi destroyed a bowling attack comprising India’s Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma and Washington Sundar, shredding reputations as he hit 94 of his 101 runs in boundaries — 11 sixes and seven fours.- ‘Carnage’ -“Vaibhav’s fearless approach, bat speed, picking the length early and transferring the energy behind the ball was the recipe behind a fabulous innings,” India cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar wrote on social media. Suryavanshi took 28 in one over off veteran quick Sharma on his way to a 17-ball fifty.He then gave Afghanistan pace bowler Karim Janat a debut to forget, blasting 30 runs — three sixes and three fours — off his first IPL over.Rajasthan head coach Rahul Dravid, who has a broken leg, still managed to get out of his wheelchair to celebrate when Suryavanshi hit a six off Afghanistan spin wizard Rashid Khan to bring up his century.”Have you ever seen anything like this?” former Australia white-ball captain Aaron Finch posted on social media. “What a talent!”India’s 1983 World Cup-winning batsman Kris Srikkanth lauded the teenager’s “composure, class and courage” beyond his years, adding: “Indian cricket’s next superstar is here.”India’s T20 skipper and Mumbai Indians batsman Suryakumar Yadav said it had been “carnage of an innings” and “absolutely insane!”Suryavanshi, who can also bowl spin, comes from India’s poorest state, Bihar.On Tuesday, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar announced a cash prize of one million rupees ($11,700) for the budding batsman.”I wish that Vaibhav creates new records for the Indian team in the future and brings glory to the country,” Kumar said in a social media post.Suryavanshi made his domestic debut aged only 12 in the Ranji Trophy in January 2024, then was selected for India’s under-19 squad against a touring Australia team.He promptly hit a 58-ball century — the second fastest ton in youth Tests after England’s Moeen Ali in 2005.After the game on Monday night, Suryavanshi, who comes from a modest family, credited his success to his parents.”Whatever I am today, I owe it to my parents,” he said in a video posted on the official IPL handle on X. “My mother used to wake up early because I had to go to practise, and she used to prepare food for me. She would sleep for only three hours. My father left his work for me.”

Pakistan’s military shot down an Indian drone along the de facto Kashmir border, state radio in Islamabad reported on Tuesday, a week after the deadliest attack on civilians in the contested region in years.The Indian army also said that both sides exchanged fire for a fifth straight night along the Line of Control (LoC), a heavily fortified zone of high-altitude Himalayan outposts.There was no immediate confirmation from Pakistan on the exchange of fire but state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported that the military had shot down an Indian “quadcopter”, calling it a violation of its airspace.Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours have plummeted after India accused Pakistan of backing an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22 in which 26 men were killed.Islamabad has rejected the charge and both countries have since exchanged gunfire in Kashmir, diplomatic barbs, expelled citizens and ordered the border shut.The unmanned Indian aircraft had attempted to conduct surveillance along the LoC in the Manawar Sector of the Bhimber area, the Radio Pakistan report said. It did not say when the incident happened. There was no comment from New Delhi.India said the “Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked small arms firing across the Line of Control” overnight Monday to Tuesday. The gunfire took place in areas opposite Kupwara and Baramulla districts, as well as in the Akhnoor sector, it said.The Indian army said its troops had “responded in a measured and effective manner to the provocation”. There were no reports of casualties.India has said Tuesday is the deadline for Pakistani citizens to leave.- ‘Exercise restraint’ -Analysts say they fear bellicose statements will escalate into possible military action.Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947. Both claim the territory in full.Rebels in the Indian-run area have waged an insurgency since 1989, seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan.Indian police have issued wanted posters for three men — two Pakistanis and an Indian — who they say are members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group, a UN-designated terrorist organisation.They have announced a two million rupee ($23,500) bounty for information leading to each man’s arrest and carried out sweeping detentions seeking anyone suspected of links to the killers.The United Nations has urged the arch-rivals to show “maximum restraint”, while China, which shares a border with both India and Pakistan, on Tuesday repeated its call on both sides to “exercise restraint”.”Both India and Pakistan are important countries in South Asia. Their harmonious coexistence is crucial to the peace, stability and development of the region,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.Iran has already offered to mediate and Saudi Arabia has said Riyadh was trying to “prevent an escalation”.US President Donald Trump downplayed tensions, saying on Friday the dispute will get “figured out, one way or another”.

Long-troubled relations between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan have rapidly worsened since a deadly attack in Kashmir targeting tourists that New Delhi blames on Islamabad, accusations it has firmly rejected.One week since the April 22 attack in which 26 men were killed, the deadliest on civilians in the disputed Himalayan territory in a quarter of a century, analysts worry furious rhetoric on either side may escalate into military retaliation.- What happened? -Gunmen attacked Indian holidaymakers enjoying picturesque Pahalgam, in a lush valley beneath snowcapped Himalayan peaks.Survivors said the gunmen separated the men, asked several about their religion, and shot them at close range.All 26 killed were Indian nationals, except one from Nepal. Most were Hindus. One was a Kashmiri Muslim who gave horse rides for tourists.Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to pursue the killers “to the ends of the Earth”.- Who were the attackers? -Indian police have identified two Pakistani nationals among the three fugitive alleged gunmen. The other is Indian.Police say they are members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), meaning the “Army of the Righteous”, designated a terrorist organisation by the United Nations.No group has claimed responsibility. India accuses LeT of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, when 10 Islamist gunmen carried out a multi-day siege of the country’s financial capital killing 166 people.New Delhi last week accused Islamabad of supporting “cross-border terrorism”.Pakistan has denied any role in the Pahalgam attack, rejecting Indian accusations as “frivolous” and saying it was open to a “neutral, transparent and credible” investigation.- What is the issue in Kashmir? -Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947. Both claim the territory in full.Rebels in the Indian-run area have waged an insurgency since 1989, seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan.India has an estimated 500,000 soldiers deployed permanently in the territory.India accuses Pakistan of funding the rebels and aiding their training. Islamabad denies the allegation, saying it only supports Kashmir’s struggle for self-determination.– How has India responded?  -New Delhi has also issued a raft of punitive diplomatic measures.Those include suspending a water-sharing treaty, the closure of the main border crossing with Pakistan and downgrading diplomatic ties.India has ordered all Pakistani nationals to leave the country, with the exception of remaining diplomats, by April 29.Security forces have conducted more than 2,000 detentions and interrogations, according to a police source.The military also destroyed at least nine houses belonging to suspects, fueling the anger of some local officials and a section of the population who denounced it as “collective punishment”.India has also banned more than a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly spreading “provocative” content. – How has Pakistan responded? -Pakistan hit back with tit-for-tat measures, including expelling New Delhi’s diplomats, and cancelling visas for Indian nationals with the exception of Sikh pilgrims.It also closed its airspace to Indian airlines.Islamabad also warned it would regard any attempt by India to stop the supply of water from the headwaters of the Indus River as an “act of war”.Pakistan’s defence minister has claimed to have “reinforced” its military to repulse any Indian aggression. – What will happen next? -Some fear that military action is now imminent. The two countries have traded small arms fire across the Line of Control, the de facto border in contested Kashmir, for five consecutive nights.The worst attack in recent years in Indian-run Kashmir was at Pulwama in 2019, when an insurgent rammed a car packed with explosives into a security forces convoy, killing 40 and wounding 35.Indian fighter jets carried out air strikes on Pakistani territory 12 days later.

Pulling logs and dusty building materials from a storage bunker outside his home in Kashmir, Riaz Awan readied the underground space to house his family as they braced for clashes between Pakistan and India to reach their border village.Kashmiris living on both sides of the de facto border — the Line of Control — have been caught in the barrage of shells and bullets for decades as the nuclear-armed archrivals fight over the disputed region.The long history of clashes has pushed many residents to build bunkers for shelter should their homes be caught in the crossfire.”We’ve endured cross-border firing, which has been a tough experience, and we don’t want our children to go through the same,” Awan, a 51-year-old farmer, told AFP as he and his children cleared the bunker that had until recently stored straw.In Chakothi village, around 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.- Threats every day -Awan and his cousin Shabbir share the bunker they built in 2017, which cost them 300,000 Pakistani rupees ($1,000) — a substantial amount in their impoverished village.But they pulled together the funds to pay for safety.A militant attack last week killed 26 people in Indian-administrated Kashmir, the worst attack on civilians in a Muslim-majority region in a quarter of a century.India blamed the attack on Pakistan and accused it of “cross-border terrorism”, a charge Islamabad vehemently denied.In response, New Delhi and Islamabad downgraded diplomatic ties, withdrew visas and announced the closure of the main land border.India says that its army has been exchanging fire with the Pakistani army for the past five days as both countries remain on edge, bracing for a potential military confrontation.”Every day, India makes various threats, saying they will do this and that,” said 52-year-old retired soldier Shabbir Awan.”That is why we are cleaning these bunkers today, so that if needed, we can use them and make our lives safer.”Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947. Both claim the territory in full but govern separate portions of it. Rebel groups have waged an insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1989, demanding independence or a merger with Pakistan. – ‘Where else can we go?’ -Ridges and valleys intersected by the Line of Control host tens of thousands of heavily armed troops, with some rival outposts just a few dozen metres apart.The Pakistan military says about 1.5 million residents live along the ceasefire line, long relying on a network of community bunkers and homemade shelters to weather the perennial bouts of unrest.An average underground bunker is around 2.5 metres deep, 3.5 metres wide and 3.5 metres long. Those who can afford it reinforce all four sides with concrete, while others simply use mud walls.”Our main concern is the safety of our children, protecting them is our biggest priority,” said Saleema Bibi, a 40-year-old mother of four.In 2017, “they even hit directly on top of our houses”, she told AFP.”We have no proper shelter or protection. We are living here — where else can we go?” she said.Naseema Bibi, a 46-year-old mother of four, owns a cow and two buffalos, making it hard for her to leave.”We have livestock. We can’t move anywhere,” she said. So she is also working to clear a bunker. “We are around eight families and it is difficult to adjust in one bunker,” she told AFP.”But children get panicked so we are concerned because of them.”

India and Pakistan are exchanging fire over their de-facto border since the Kashmir attack, but in New Delhi and Islamabad political foes are coming together and looking to score points.On April 22 gunmen killed 26 people in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir, the disputed Himalayan region that has long been a dangerous thorn in relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours.India accuses Pakistan of backing the perpetrators of the worst attack on civilians in years in Kashmir, an accusation rejected by Islamabad. In addition to shooting over the Line of Control frontier in Kashmir, the two nations have exchanged diplomatic barbs, expelled citizens and ordered the border shut.But while the world holds its breath over a possible escalation, analysts said that domestically both sides could use the crisis to generate political gains.”New Delhi could use it to bolster its image as strong and confident and tough on terror,” said political scientist Michael Kugelman.”Islamabad could use it to try to rally support for a civilian and military leadership that isn’t terribly popular at home,” Kugelman told AFP.- ‘Speak as Pakistanis’ -Pakistani opposition parties have in recent times become more openly critical of the military, which has long been heavily involved in politics and the economy.But now the fallout of the Kashmir attack has “entirely divertedattention with one common enemy”, Pakistani political scientist Ayesha Siddiqa told AFP.”When there is a fear of war, people show greater support for the army,” she said.When the Senate voted on an anti-India resolution last week, jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party voted in favour, ensuring it passed unanimously.Siddiqa said the party had no other choice or it would have been deemed unpatriotic.”It is not about being with this installed government or the army, it is about standing against the enemy,” PTI’s spokesman Sheikh Waqas Akram said.Information Minister Ataullah Tarar echoed the message: “We don’t speak as party members, we speak as Pakistanis.”- ‘Brother against brother’ -Likewise in India, Rahul Gandhi of the Congress party, usually a harsh critic of Modi, made a statement saying that the opposition was united in condemning the attack.”Whatever steps the government wishes to take, we will fully support them,” Gandhi said.”The intent behind this attack is to divide society and pit brother against brother,” he added.”At such a time, it is extremely essential that every Indian remains united and stands together — so that we can foil this conspiracy of the terrorists.”The youth wing of the Congress party has held rallies, waving the Indian flag and offering their support to Modi.”I pray to God for the peace of those who lost their lives in this attack”, said Ravi Kumar, a member of the Indian Youth Congress, during a rally on Friday.He called for “strong and decisive action. The people of the country and the opposition are standing firmly with you.”Even members of India’s Muslim minority — portrayed as a Pakistani “fifth column” by some in Modi’s Hindu nationalist party — have got behind the government and taken aim at Pakistan.”Remember, if you go into another country and kill innocent people, no country will remain silent,” said Asaduddin Owaisi, president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen party (AIMIM).- Pressure to deliver -On the Pakistani side, government officials and official media have presented the Kashmir attack as “fake and orchestrated by India.”This message has been widely shared on social media in Pakistan, where disinformation is rife, has gone down well on the street.”India is holding us responsible after having executed its own citizens,” said Matloob Inkalabi, a resident of Pakistani Kashmir.In Islamabad, Waqas Sheikh, a 56-year-old trader, agreed.”The attack was planned by the Indians, Pakistan has nothing to do with it,” he says, assuring that he “supports the army if India continues its provocations”.Since the Kashmir attack, Indian police have issued wanted posters for three men — two Pakistanis and an Indian — who they say are members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group, a UN-designated terrorist organisation.Modi is “under pressure to deliver”, said Praveen Donthi from International Crisis Group (ICG).”The public is used to a certain hostile rhetoric when it comes to Pakistan, and they are now begging for blood, they are asking for a military retaliation,” Donthi said.