Prime Minister of Pakistani-administered Kashmir Chaudhry Abdul Majeed. – AFP Photo/File

SRINAGAR: Prime Minister of Pakistani-administered Kashmir Chaudhry Abdul Majeed on Wednesday dismissed the public advisory, telling residents to prepare for nuclear war by building basement shelters, as a pressure tactic.

“India cannot impose even conventional war on Pakistan, and if it does, each and every child of Kashmir will fight shoulder-to-shoulder with the Pakistan armed forces against India,” said Majeed.

Meanwhile, Indian-administered Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah described the nuclear warning as a “daft idea.”

The State Disaster Response Force in a notice this week urged people to build shelters to prepare for a potential nuclear conflict in the disputed region, which has been on edge after deadly border clashes between Indian and Pakistani troops.

“What a daft idea!!!” Abdullah said in a post on social networking website Twitter, referring to the advisory which appeared in a local English-language newspaper.

The notice instructed residents in the Himalayan region to build toilet-equipped underground shelters “where the whole family can stay for a fortnight” and said the bunkers should be stocked with non-perishable food.

A ceasefire took hold last week in the territory after India and Pakistan agreed to halt cross-border firing that threatened to unravel a fragile peace process between the nuclear-armed nations, but tensions remain.

State civil defence authorities in Kashmir confirmed that they had issued the notice on Monday but said it “should not be connected with anything else,” in an apparent reference to the recent border flare-up.

The advisory was part of regular year-round civil defence preparedness, Mubarak Ganai, deputy inspector general of civil defence in the Kashmir police force, told AFP.

India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over the divided territory. Each country controls a part of the region but claims it in full.

The notice in the Greater Kashmir daily vividly described a nuclear war scenario to prepare residents to deal with “the initial shock wave,” telling people to “wait for the winds to die down and debris to stop falling.”

“If the blast wave does not arrive within five seconds of the flash, you were far enough from the ground zero,” it said.

Opinion

Editorial

Tribunals’ failure
Updated 19 Nov, 2024

Tribunals’ failure

With election tribunals having failed to fulfil their purpose, it isn't surprising that Pakistan has not been able to stabilise.
Balochistan MPC
19 Nov, 2024

Balochistan MPC

WHILE immediate threats to law and order must be confronted by security forces, the long-term solution to...
Firm tax measures
19 Nov, 2024

Firm tax measures

FINANCE Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb is ready to employ force to make everyone and every sector in Pakistan pay their...
When medicine fails
Updated 18 Nov, 2024

When medicine fails

Between now and 2050, medical experts expect antibiotic resistance to kill 40m people worldwide.
Nawaz on India
Updated 18 Nov, 2024

Nawaz on India

Nawaz Sharif’s hopes of better ties with India can only be realised when New Delhi responds to Pakistan positively.
State of abuse
18 Nov, 2024

State of abuse

The state must accept that crimes against children have become endemic in the country.