Muzaffarabad (POJK), Dec 14 (NVI) Some parts of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir were abuzz with a ridiculous rumour that about 25-30 personnel of Indian Army crossed the Line of Control (LoC) in Hajira area on Friday (yesterday) and harassed some local women here.
The rumour kept spreading even after the POJK Police rubbished the claim and said action would be taken against those responsible for circulating the “disinformation”.
A leader of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), which wants Pakistan to vacate POJK, hinted that the rumour-mongering could be ploy of the Pakistani agencies as the “movement for azadi” is gaining momentum.
“These people resort to such tactics whenever the movement for azadi gains momentum,” he said.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Hajira) asserted that there was no truth in the claims made by some locals that they saw the Indian Army personnel and dubbed these versions as “disinformation”.
In a video message, he said the police had spoken to those who made the claims but there was no evidence supporting their statements.
He said there was some design behind spreading the rumour and warned of action against those behind it.
The rumour spread after a man claimed that he saw some women running from their homes at the time of Friday prayers, saying that Indian Army men had entered their houses.
He claimed he saw some 25-30 men in the uniform of Indian Army and fired at them from his personal weapon as they “ran back”.
He even claimed that two of the Indian Army men were injured due to his firing and they were evacuated by others across the LoC.
The man went to the extent of claiming that he informed Pakistan army men close by and asked them to fire at the Indian soldiers but they refused, saying they didn’t have the “orders” to do so.
Several local leaders, including those of National Equality Party of JK and Gilgit-Baltistan, refused to accept the theory that the Indian troops crossed LoC during ceasefire and were fired upon and injured by locals while the Pakistan Army did nothing.
Some dismissed it as a figment of imagination while some others said it could be a ploy of Pakistani agencies to incite locals to stage protests against India.
Insisting that the claims were not believable, they asked for video evidence.
“In the current times, every one has a mobile phone with camera. Did nobody make any video? Is there any video? Please present one,” said one leader. (NVI)
