MUZAFFARABAD: Pakistan on Saturday repatriated two Kashmiris who had separately strayed into Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) from the Line of Control (LoC) more than two years ago, officials said.
The goodwill gesture on the part of Pakistan was in sharp contrast to the Thursday’s incident when a Pakistani woman who had inadvertently crossed the Working Boundary was shot dead by Indian Border Security Force (BSF) personnel near Sialkot.
Repatriation of 23-year-old Bilal Ahmed and 24-year-old Arfaz Yousuf was held at Kaman Bridge at the Chakothi-Uri crossing point, some 60 kilometers south of Muzaffarabad, in the presence of civilian and military officials from both sides.
Ahmed, a resident of Gurez village, and Yousuf, a resident of Kupwara, in India-held Kashmir, had crossed the LoC “by mistake” in July 2015 and January 2014 from Nikru and Chilyana sectors, respectively, according to officials.
Indian soldier Chandu Chavan, who inadvertently strayed across the Line of Control in September 2016, was handed over to the Indian authorities in January.
