IHK CM terms nuclear conflict warning 'daft'
24 January, 2013
SRINAGAR: The top elected official in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) on Wednesday described a public advisory telling residents to prepare for nuclear war by building basement shelters 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!!!" IHK Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said in a post on micro-blogging 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 IHK 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, said Mubarak Ganai of civil defence in the Kashmir police force. End.
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