Muzaffarabad:

Azad Jammu and Kashmir authorities on Thursday will close more than 1,000 religious schools over fear of possible military action from India as retaliation for last week’s deadly attack.

In fear of a military escalation, authorities closed more than 1,000 religious schools in AJK. “We’ve announced a 10-day break for all mattresses in Kashmir,” said Hafiz Nazeer Ahmed, head of Kashmir’s Department of Religious Affairs.

A departmental source said it was “because of tension at the border and the potential of conflict”.

About 1.5 million people live near the AJK control line, where residents are preparing simple, mud-walled underground bunkers reinforced with concrete if they could afford it.

“For a week we have lived in constant fear, especially regarding our children’s safety,” Iftikhar Ahmad Mir, a 44 -year -old store owner in Chakothi on the line of control, told AFP.

“We make sure they don’t roam around after completing their school and coming right home.”

Emergency Services in Muzaffarabad has also begun to educate school children about what to do if India attacks.

“We’ve learned how to dress a wounded person, how to wear someone on a stretcher and how to extinguish a fire,” said 11-year-old Ali Raza.

In Muzaffarabad, training sessions have already taken place in 13 schools, according to emergency workers.

“In an emergency, schools are the first to be affected, which is why we start evacuation training with schoolchildren,” Abdul Basit Moughal, a coach from Pakistan’s Civil Defense Directorate, told AFP.

The agency will deploy its rescue workers into schools bordering LOC in the coming days.