Border Residents of Jammu And Kashmir Demand Firearms Licences To Protect Themselves From Pakistan Troops’ Firing

Residents of border villages living under the constant threat of firing by Pakistani troops and terrorist attacks have demanded that the Jammu and Kashmir state government grant them licences to keep firearms, police said on Wednesday (4 October).

At a meeting of police and border dwellers in Samba, the residents of the border belt demanded they be given licences to protect themselves from ultras, a police spokesperson said.

The meeting was convened in the wake of recent ceasefire violations by Pakistan that forced villagers to seek shelter in safer places.

The meeting, chaired by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP)of the Samba district Anil Magotra at the Rajpura police station, saw the participation of a number of border dwellers and the heads of several villages.

The villagers rued they were not enough bullet-proof vehicles for their evacuation to safer places during ceasefire violations, the police spokesperson said. Villagers also said that more ambulances with all life-support systems needed to be added to the existing fleet.

The SSP told the villagers he would raise the matter at the appropriate level. PTI