Srinagar: In a humanitarian jesture, the Indian army broke protocol and handed over the body of a seven-year-old boy who had drowned in the Kishenganga river to the Pakistani army. The minor's body was washed up in Gurez sector on the Indian side of the Line of Control. The boy had drowned in Minimarg area of Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), they said.
Abid Sheikh had accidentally fallen into the Neelam river, which is called Kishenganga in India, in Gilgit area across the LoC. By the time his body was fished out, it had travelled several kilometres, frequently hitting boulders in the furiously flowing river. "The body was in a decomposed state, with a lot of marks on it," an Army official who was part of the team that handed over the body to its Pakistani counterparts said.
Lt General KJS Dhillon, General Officer Commanding of the 15 Corps who heads the Army in Kashmir, closely monitoring the handover. "We ensured that the body was handed over at Gurez, which is near the place of the accident. The Pakistan army had told us to transfer it at Teetwal, but we preferred Gurez since it was closer for the distraught family," he said.
Dhillon said that the sensibilities of the family were taken care of and the body handed over respectfully. "A 'moulvi' (cleric) was called to supervise the special prayers and we were keen the rituals were in accordance with his religion," he added. India and Pakistan have frequently exchanged stranded civilians who have strayed along the LoC or the International Border or the bodies of its civilians who slip to death in the bordering rivers.
According to sources, the Army acted after Pakistani authorities flagged the issue of sending back Sheikh's body. But it was an emotive appeal by the boy's father and uncles on social media that prompted the Army to act swiftly. The incident came amid the existing tension between the two countries. In February, the Indian Air Force targeted a Jaish-e-Mohammad training centre in Pakistan after its local operative in Kashmir triggered a deadly explosion that killed 40 CRPF men in Pulwama. Indian and Pakistani armies exchange mortar and bullet firing on a daily basis, but handing over the minor's body in Gurez will come as a major relief to the pro-peace efforts.
