MUZAFFARABAD: A woman hailing from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), who was shot dead by the Indian army after she strayed across the Line of Control (LoC) while herding cattle, was laid to rest in her village on Wednesday.

Widow Parveen Fatima, 65, of Bani Hotreri village of Pandu sector in Jhelum Valley district, was reportedly herding cattle along the unmarked dividing line and while plucking black mushrooms went astray in the Indian-occupied territory on Monday.

According to local journalist Ajaz Ahmed Meer, when the woman did not return home, villagers launched a search operation and reported her disappearance to the Chinari police station the same night. Also apprehensive about her straying across the divide, the police and villagers came to know from different sources that Indian troops had shot someone dead in the occupied territory and the deceased might be the same woman they were looking for.

After communication between the two sides through military channels, the body was handed over to Pakistani authorities via Kaman Bridge at the Chakothi-Uri crossing point on Tuesday evening.

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2023