Three boys from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), who crossed the Line of Control (LoC) inadvertently on August 18, were repatriated on Friday at the Pir Panjal valley’s Poonch district.
“The children were treated very humanely and compassionately, beholding the finest traditions of the Indian Army. They were safely repatriated to PoJK on Friday,” Army spokesman Lt. Col. Devender Anand said.
They were apprehended after the Army spotted them “through a well-coordinated and effective surveillance network”.
“The area was immediately cordoned off and the three were apprehended. They turned out to be children aged between 9 and 17 years. There was a fourth person who was the eldest amongst them and he managed to run away. Indian troops did not open fire on the individual attempting to cross back,” the spokesman said.
The children were from Chhatra and Troti Dharmshal across the LoC and claimed to be labourers excavating sand from river and nallah beds. “They had crossed the LoC for fishing,” the Army said.
Treated well
One of the boys said he was treated well and allowed to play cricket during his detention. “We were also taken to a mosque for Quran recitation and the Army made us meet the local children. We realised that there is no difference between us and them,” the boy said, in a video uploaded online.
The boys were identified as Danyal Malik (17), Arbaz Rahim (13) and Umair Rahim (9).
