CHAKOTHI, Jan 20: Despite the prevailing high tension along the Line of Control (LoC) due to military build-up by India, the morale of the people living in areas along the LoC is high.

“We are fully prepared to defend our motherland shoulder to shoulder with our brave military men”, said the area people, while talking to a team of foreign journalists, who, with local journalists, visited the LoC areas on Sunday.

“We have full confidence in the capability of the disciplined armed forces of Pakistan and the whole nation is with them”, said Abdul Rehman, a resident of Chakothi.

Another resident, Ghulam Rasool, said, “The defence of the motherland is in safe hands, as they always ably proved their mettle.”

The 20-member team of foreign journalists found that the morale of the area people was high and they were living a normal life despite violations of LoC from across the border at times.

Chakothi is 15 miles away from the LoC, but despite the high tension, there was hustle and bustle in the markets.

Meanwhile, another team of newsmen found, during a visit to Thar border areas, that the villagers were unwilling to move to safe areas despite the heavy Indian troop build-up in the Rajhistan sector.

Some of the villagers told newsmen that they had no intention of moving from their villages with their livestock, as they were fully aware that the armed forces of their country were ready to respond to any aggressive act from the Indian side.

The residents of these villages were found doing their chores and businesses without any panic or fear. However, two or three villages, situated very close to the border, were vacated, Chachro taluka Nazim said.

Khalid Soomro, a social worker of Umerkot, said that only a small number of people from Umerkot had left their homes.

—APP