Don't make LoC a political theatre: NC

The National Conference has urged political parties not to turn the Line of Control into a "political theatre" and called for a "collective strategy" to help people living in border areas.
"This is a human problem that needs a humane approach," NC provincial president Devender Singh Rana said.
Calling for an end to border tensions, Rana said "the pain and agony" of people under fire from Pakistan could neither be felt in New Delhi nor across the border.
"Instead of playing politics, blaming each other or indulging in rhetoric, let us show some empathy to the victims who seem to have lost all hope," Rana said after meeting people who had been moved to camps in the Nowshera sector of Rajouri district.

The NC leader demanded residential plots in safer areas for families living on the borders, pointing out that shelling affected sustenance and their children's education.
"We urge all political parties to rise above party politics and work towards seeking a safe, secured and better life for our border people, who are at the receiving end whenever border skirmishes take place," Rana said.

Hostility could not be a substitute for peace, he said, and stressed the problem had to be handled "sagaciously" by India and Pakistan.
"We must learn from our mistakes and do away with the tendency of showing concern only when border skirmishes take place and then forget the border people till the next eventuality," he said.

In this context, he mentioned promises made by successive Central governments on constructing shelters and community bunkers, on allotment of plots and giving jobs to young people living along the border.