Humanitarian gesture: Pakistan returns drowned Kargil boy’s body via Teetwal crossing
Calls grow for humanitarian corridor on LoC in Kargil sector after repatriation
Srinagar: In a humanitarian gesture, Pakistani authorities handed over the mortal remains of a young boy from Ladakh region of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) to Indian authorities at the Teetwal crossing in Kupwara district. The child had drowned in the Suru River in Kargil last month, and his body was later traced in Baltistan across the Line of Control.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the body of Zulqarnain Ali, believed to be between six and nine years old, reached his native village of Hunderman in Kargil district of Ladakh on Wednesday after being formally received by Indian authorities a day earlier at the Teetwal bridge, a traditional crossing point between AJK and IIOJK.
The bridge, closed for civilian movement since 2019 following India’s illegal revocation of IIOJK’s special status, was temporarily reopened to facilitate the repatriation of the body. The remains were later transported to Kargil for burial.
The tragic incident dates back to March 20 when Zulqarnain and another child reportedly drowned while playing near the Suru River in Hunderman village. While one body was recovered soon after the incident, Zulgarnani’s body was swept downstream across the LoC into the Baltistan region.
Kargil-based political leader Sajjad Kargili described the return of the body as a humanitarian act deserving appreciation. “We appreciate the humanitarian gesture. Humanity must always prevail over hostility,” he said.
Kargili also urged India and Pakistan to establish a formal humanitarian mechanism for the repatriation of bodies and stranded civilians in border regions, proposing a dedicated coordination point at the Kargil–Kharmang sector. He noted several similar incidents in the past had ended with bodies being buried across the LoC due to the absence of any repatriation mechanism.
“The dead deserve dignity. Humanity must prevail over hostility,” he said, adding that families divided between Ladakh region of IIOJK and Pakistan’s Baltistan region have suffered decades of separation.
“Establishing a humanitarian coordination point on the LoC between Kargil and Kharmang in Baltistan is no longer optional — it is a moral and humanitarian necessity”, he added.
