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CNN Live Saturday

Villagers on Indian-Pakistani Border Flee for Their Lives

Aired January 12, 2002 - 18:18   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Soldiers on both sides of the Pakistan-India border are poised for war. The situation is, of course, the disputed territory of Kashmir, with daily exchanges of fire in that area. A dangerous situation for villagers living near the border and CNN's Ash-Har Quraishi has their story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ASH-HAR QURAISHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is Hardiola (ph), a small village about two miles from the border with India. It's mostly empty now. The fear of war has scared almost everyone away. The few that remain behind are only here to guard the belongings left behind -- mostly men and teenage boys.

"The situation is very tense," he says. "Both armies are all over the border. So I moved my family to Lahore. I'm only trying to look out for my children."

The village elders speak of current events and politics here. As for the current situation, they are defiant.

HAJI KARAMAT ALI, VILLAGE ELDER: On the border, people have -- people are very courageous. If the time comes war, the Pakistanis will take, with their armed forces, they will face the consequences.

QURAISHI: The atmosphere in the village of Lallo (ph) is a little different. It sits just 300 feet from the border, under the watchful eye of Indian military post. In 1965, Indian forces were able to make their way through the village and almost to the city of Lahore. Today, the village is a virtual ghost town.

(on camera): It's the same story in villages all along the border. Every time tensions between India and Pakistan increase, people here say they're forced to leave out of concern for the safety of their families. But some villagers we spoke to say that they welcome war as a possible end to the fear they've been living with for years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I say, let the war start so this can be over with. We are forced to run this way and that way. I say, let the war start so we can get on with our lives.

QURAISHI (voice-over): For now, the signs of impending war are everywhere. Bunkers scattered across the landscape. Army positions around every corner. So villagers continue to leave these areas. Musar Ahmet (ph) tells us that he doesn't know when he will be back. He says he will join his family and leave his house and farm behind until the troops have gone from his fields.

Ash-Har Quraishi, CNN, on the Pakistani-Indian border.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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