ISLAMABAD: In its communication with the Pakistan Army’s military operations directorate, the Indian Army has asked for the release of its soldier who it believes is in Pakistani custody, a military source said on Friday.

The Indian side contended that its soldier, identified in media reports as Chandu Babulal Chuhan of 37 Rashtriya Rifles, had ‘inadvertently’ crossed the Line of Control (LoC) and entered the Pakistani side, the source privy to the contact made between the two sides said.

The contact took place at the level of “duty officers”. The (Pakistani) military operations directorate in its reply expressed ignorance about the whereabouts of the Indian soldier.

The Indian side was further told that the missing soldier was being traced.

Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa, the Inter-Services Public Relations director general, had on Thursday denied that any Indian soldier was in the army’s captivity.

Indian media, however, claimed that Chohan was captured by Pakistani troops along with his arms at Jhandroot, near Kotli, and was being detained at a military facility in Nakiyal.

The crossing had reportedly occurred at a time when Pakistani and Indian forces were trading fire and as per the Indian account its troops were busy carrying out “surgical strikes” in Azad Kashmir for neutralising alleged “terrorism launch pads”.

However, the Indians have been adamant that Chuhan’s crossing was in no way linked to their so-called “surgical strikes”.

The Indian stance is meant to benefit from the bilateral arrangement about inadvertent crossers. However, the level of tensions between the two countries, particularly after the Indian claims about “surgical strikes”, precludes any possibility of cooperation.

In New Delhi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that all attempts were being made to free the Indian soldier.

He was conducting a meeting where National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and senior paramilitary officials were present, reports said.

Mr Singh said that the government took note of the reports, which stated that an Indian soldier was in Pakistan’s captivity. “All attempts are being made to secure his release,” he told reporters here.

The home minister also said that New Delhi will take up the matter with Islamabad for his early release.

However, Pakistani position on the issue has been marked by confusion.

As opposed to Gen Bajwa’s denial, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations in New York Maleeha Lodhi in a media interview accepted that the Indian soldier had been held by the Pakistan Army “while trying to enter Pakistani territory”.

Our correspondent in New Delhi contributed to this report.

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2016