May 02, Kathmandu- Pakistan-administered Kashmir urged residents near the de facto border with the Indian side of the region to stock up on food on Friday, as tensions between the arch-rivals escalated.

India has blamed Pakistan for the April 22 attack by gunmen on civilians in the tourist resort of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir. 26 people were killed in the attack. Islamabad has denied the allegations.

“Directions have been issued to stockpile food supplies for two months in 13 constituencies along the Line of Control (LoC),’’ Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq, the Prime Minister of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, told a local assembly on Friday.

He said the regional government had also created an emergency fund of one billion rupees ($3.5 million) to ensure the supply of food, medicine and all other basic necessities in the 13 constituencies.

He informed that government and private machinery has also been deployed for road maintenance in areas adjacent to the LoC.