KASUR: Hakim Ali of Wallaywala village knows the trouble wartime brings, especially for residents of villages bordering the Line of Control between India and Pakistan. The tiny village, barely a kilometre away from the ominous razor wire and electrified fence, is home to hundreds of small-scale farmers whose livelihood mainly depends on rearing livestock. The 70-year-old recalls the evacuations and losses suffered in both previous wars fought along the border. “War brings bloodshed and nothing else.”

This time around, however, Hakim sees no signs of a brewing conflict.

War hysteria gripping both countries has not reached the villages along the border in Kasur district, Muhammad Din, also a resident of Wallaywala, says. Perhaps because there is no access to cable television and precious few families can afford to install dish antennae. “Most of us aren’t even aware of strained relations between the two countries.”

In fact, the last weeks of September saw scores of weddings and Urs celebrations in Kilchi, Mumbayki, Bazeedpur, and Choriwala villages, Iftikhar Ahmed of Kilchi village, says. According to tradition, all scheduled celebrations are wrapped up before the month of Muharram. “There was no let-up in the pomp and show we like at our weddings...these are events that bring entire villages together.”

Muhammad Boota, a mid-level farmer from Kilchi village, finds the possibility of war absurd. Paddy crops on both sides of the border are ready for harvest, he explains, it would be cruel to make farmers move elsewhere with their cattle. “Evacuation at this point is out of the question.” Boota has recently invested most of his life savings in constructing a house for his family. “Why would I make such an investment if there was a war in the offing?”

Earlier this month, India announced that hundreds of villages along its northern Punjab border had been evacuated and surveillance levels along the border increased. “Warmongers on both sides would have you believe we’re in the middle of a fight,” Boota says.

A few days back, 12-year-old Muhammad Tanvir had managed to cross into Indian territory while searching for water to drink. Locals said that the child was from Sheikhupura and had been visiting relatives in Dhari village in Kasur district. Despite high tensions, the Indian Border Security Force had contacted the Rangers in Pakistan and returned the boy the very next day.

The children in Bazeedpur village along the border go to school as is routine each morning, Muhammad Aslam a teacher at the village school says. “There is no talk of war.”

Residents of smaller villages including Ulaykay, Doanni, Jumaywala, Mumbayki, Sahjra, Kotli, Bhaikiwind, Nagar and Sheikhupura Kohna shrug shoulders when asked how the current tensions have affected their daily lives. Hundreds of residents of these villages had recently flocked to Bhadian Kalan village near the border for the Urs celebrations of Baba Daleel Shah. The festivities had gone on as planned without an inkling of threat or war.

The civil society — traders, lawyers and students — on both sides have criticised hawkish jingoism by right-wing politicians. In an interview with a Xinhua news agency on Friday, Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General, said all communication channels between Pakistani and Indian armies were open. “Pakistan wants peaceful relations with all countries in the region.”

For Hakim Ali, the back-and-forth between the two countries does not bode well. “There is no greater blessing than peace and harmony,” the elderly man says emphatically. Both countries must focus on promoting love, peace and harmony in the larger interest of humanity. “This is the highest form of politics.”

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2016