Kutch (Gujarat) [India], May 3 (ANI): With persisting tensions between India and Pakistan following the deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, refugees from the 1971 Indo-Pak war, now settled in the border areas of Kutch, Gujarat, have strongly condemned the incident and expressed unwavering support for the Indian Armed Forces.

Many refugees or their family members have served in Indian border forces, and they say they remain committed to assisting the Army and police if tensions escalate.

Speaking to ANI, Chota Bhanji, a resident of Tharparkar village and a 1971 war refugee, said that the retired border agents staying in the village should be given a weapons licence for the protection of the village.

'The people who are living here and are retired from the army should be given a gun licence. There are a lot of people like that, people who were in BSF, in other forces, who have been trained and are now retired. If we give them weapons, it would be good. Otherwise, routine things are already going on, we are anyway with the armed forces,' he said.

He said that currently there are no tensions in his village and surrounding area, but everyone is ready and fully supporting the Army and police if the need arises.

'For now, there are no such tensions in the Kutch border area. Maybe if we get closer to the border, then there might be tensions. We had come here after the Indo-Pak war, the Hindu people. War has happened 2-3 times before, it is not that, but people believe in themselves now. Our soldiers are trained, and even when we came here, the government gave us land and the men were given jobs in a border force too,' he said.

'If something happens in the future, then the people at the border will be with the army, with the police,' he added.

According to him, there are a total of 14 settlement villages in the area, with thousands of 1971 war refugees having settled there decades ago.

Another villager, Khetaram Ojha, while condemning the Pahalgam attack talked about that even though there are tensions in certain other border areas, he fully believes in the Army to do its job, and believes in Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as he has given a free hand to the Armed Forces to reply to the Pahalgam attack.

'We migrated here to India after the 1971 Indo-Pak war, and now we have been given citizenship and settled here. The thing (Pahalgam attack) which has happened is very bad, it should not happen. Our enemy country has been sending terrorists, it has been happening since Independence. The feeling of a war has been going on since then, but our country, India, has changed now,' Khetaram Ojha told ANI.

Also affirming his support for the forces, he added, 'India is capable now, there are tensions now, but there is full confidence in our armed forces and our Prime Minister, that nothing will happen to us. He has given a free hand to them and our forces are very capable. We are at the border, but we are also alert and ready to support the forces.'

On April 29, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Anil Chauhan, and the three service chiefs. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was also present. The Pahalgam terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir killed 26 people, making it one of the deadliest attacks in the valley since the 2019 Pulwama attack, where 40 CRPF jawans were killed.

The sources said PM Modi expressed complete faith and confidence in the professional abilities of the Indian armed forces. They said that PM Modi stated that the Indian Armed Forces have complete operational freedom to decide on the mode, targets, and timing of India's response. (ANI)