Kashmir: Soldiers on Line of Control welcomed 2024 by celebrating with locals

While people across the country welcomed the New Year on Sunday night, here soldiers on the Line of Control are celebrating it hours in advance. They had to return to their night duties – guarding and patrolling the Line of Control with Pakistan. But before they returned to their posts, they shared good wishes over hot cups of tea, food and dancing in a brief celebration planned by the army and locals to mark the occasion. During the festivities, which began around 4 pm on a cold Sunday in this sleepy village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Uri sector, the Army and the villagers assured each other that they were together through thick and thin. “Whenever civilians face any problem, the army is the first to respond,” said local social activist Lal Hasan Kohli. And, civilians stand shoulder to shoulder with soldiers in times of need.”