SRINAGAR: A Pakistani national detained after crossing the LoC in J&K’s Kupwara district last week has been repatriated, with the handover formalities marked by handshakes between the two armies.Asad Khan’s handover took place Thursday at Aman Setu peace bridge over Kishanganga river in Kupwara’s Teetwal, around 158km north of Srinagar, in the presence of senior officials.According to the Army, Khan, a native of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province who had been staying in PoK capital Muzaffarabad, had been detained near Kupwara’s Samari village on June 12 after crossing the LoC.Khan was treated “with dignity and compassion, reflecting the Indian Army’s unwavering commitment to humanitarian values and conduct”, the Army said. “His safe repatriation underscores the Indian Army’s ethos, responsibility and adherence to the highest standards of military professionalism,” the Army added.Khan, whose three brothers work in Saudi Arabia, had travelled to PoK’s Neelum Valley in search of a job and reportedly lost his way amid heightened tensions in the region last week before inadvertently crossing the LoC.“Based on specific intelligence inputs, alert #ChinarWarriors, in a joint operation with @JmuKmrPolice, intercepted the individual and prevented any potential security breach,” the Army’s Srinagar-based Chinar Corps had posted on June 12.
