MUZAFFARBAD: The family of an octogenarian man, who had strayed across the Line of Control (LoC) into India occupied Jammu and Kashmir the other day, on Wednesday called upon the Indian authorities to swiftly respond to request from their Pakistani counterparts for his early repatriation.

The 80 odd years old Munir Hussain, who is said to be suffering from mental illness for the past four or so years, had left his home in Gulshan Colony of Battal sector, which lies along the heavily militarised LoC in Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s (AJK) Poonch district, at about 11am on Tuesday to join his spouse, Begum Jan, in nearby forests where she was grazing cattle.

However, when Ms Jan returned home alone at about 4pm, the family became worried about Mr Hussain and launched a search for him, but to no avail, said Waleed Anwar, assistant commissioner of Hajira, of which Battal sector is a part.

“They approached the Sehra police post at about 10pm, following which I ordered local police and other officials concerned to hunt for him not only in the jungle but also along River Poonch where I assumed he may have gone to beat the heat,” he told Dawn.

Family seeks repatriation of elderly man as soon as possible

However, on Wednesday it transpired from some Indian news portals that Mr Hussain had been apprehended by an Indian army patrol after he “illegally” crossed over into the occupied territory.

No incriminating material was recovered from him and preliminary questioning suggested that he “might have crossed the LoC inadvertently,” added the Indian media reports.

Mr Hussain’s nephew Liaquat Hussain told Dawn that his uncle, who suffered from mental ailments and hypertension, must have lost his way while trekking through the jungle to join his wife.

“I call upon the Indian authorities to send him back home via Tetrinote crossing point as soon as they receive a request for the same from this side,” he said.

Assistant commissioner Anwar said that he had already sent a report to his higher authorities for initiation of the requisite measures for Mr Hussain’s early repatriation.

Officials say that AJK people living along the unmarked dividing line often go astray while herding cattle, cutting fodder or collecting medicinal plants and herbs and land themselves in trouble on the other side of the divide.

According to the officials, unlike occupied Kashmir, many AJK areas along the LoC have civilian populations ahead of the Pakistan army posts which’s why unintentional movement across the divide occurs sporadically.

On May 21, Nasreen Fatima, a resident of AJK’s Kotli district, was repatriated by the Indian authorities via Tetrinote crossing point, two days after she had inadvertently entered the occupied territory’s Rajouri district.

Prior to that on March 19, Pakistani authorities had repatriated Shabnam Bi and her minor daughter who had crossed over into the AJK territory more than a month ago from the occupied Poonch area.

In October last year, a mentally challenged teenager from AJK was handed over to Pakistani authorities via Tetrinote crossing point.

In the previous years, while some other people were also repatriated by both sides, Asmaad Ali, a teenager from AJK’s Tetrinote area who had also strayed across the divide in November 2021 while chasing his pet pigeon, was yet to be repatriated by the Indian authorities.

Assistant commissioner Anwar disclosed to Dawn that only yesterday he had sent details about the boy to the concerned authorities in Islamabad and he hoped that soon he would be reunited with his grief-stricken family.

Repatriation of inadvertent crossers apart, the bygone year (2023) also saw the killing of at least eight AJK civilians at the hands of the Indian army when they were collecting herbs, herding cattle or cutting fodder.

In the latest such incident, five residents of Neelum valley’s Gurez area of Neelum, had gone missing on October 26, 2023 when picking herbs and medicinal plants in the nearby forests which straddle the unmarked LoC.

Their families waited in vain for them over the next 24 hours and were horrified by Indian media reports claiming that the Indian army had shot dead “five members of a militant organisation after they had infiltrated from across the divide.”

However, neither the bodies nor the weapons “recovered from the slain infiltrators” were shown by Indian media.

Prior to that, on August 21, last year, an AJK villager was martyred by the Indian army when he was cutting grass near the LoC in Nakyal sector of Kotli district.

Earlier on June 24, the same year, two villagers were martyred and their third colleague was injured by the Indian troops in an almost identical incident in Tetrinote area, which marked the first major ‘willful’ ceasefire violation by the Indian army in two and a half years.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2024