MIRPUR  – Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and 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 in the Indian-held Kashmir 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.