GUJARAT: When it comes to love, borders usually don’t matter, and as the saying goes, ‘love will find a way’.

But that wasn’t the case for a young Pakistani couple who tried to cross into India only to be returned to the hands of Pakistani Rangers.

In the second week of June, Akbar Ali and Zarina tried to cross the border through a opening in the fence near Border Outpost 1106.

“They didn’t try to sneak in but were shouting at the top of their voice to catch the attention of the Border Security Force guards,” a BSF guard recalled.

The BSF apprehended the couple, but a few hours of questioning convinced them, and the other intelligence agencies, that this was just a desperate couple in the throes of love.

Akbar, 28, a tailor by trade and Zarina, 20, were in love but the headman of Zarina's village wanted her to marry his son.

With no other options, the hapless couple thought of seeking refuge in India.

“They said they believed India would do them justice ... that they would be killed if we handed them back,” said an officer of the BSF.

But there was little that the BSF could do.

It could hand them over to the local police who would book them for illegal crossing, and after they serve their jail term, send them back to Pakistan. Or it could seek a flag meeting with the local commander of the Pakistani Rangers and hand them back to him.

And that’s what the BSF did. Not all love stories end in happily ever after.