PoK SISTERS WHO CROSSED LoC SENT HOME WITH GIFTS

Two PoK sisters who had crossed over to Jammu and Kashmir inadvertently early Sunday morning were on Monday sent home with several gifts. The siblings were seen off by senior officers of the J&K civilian authorities and local commander of the Army at the Chakan Da Bagh crossing point along the Line of Control in Poonch district.

“The sisters Laiba Zabair (17) and Sana Zabair (13) were handed over to the Pakistani authorities this morning,” said an official. They are residents of Abbasspur village of Kahuta tehsil of PoK and, as per a defence spokesman, were apprehended by the Indian Army after noticing them moving in Sarla sector along the LoC in Poonch on Sunday. “Own troops deployed along the LoC, having detected the crossing, exercised complete restraint to prevent any harm to the teenagers,” the spokesman said. Soon messages were exchanged between the facing armies and a meeting was arranged at the Chakan Da Bagh in which officials from Pakistan and India were present. Poonch’s SSP, Ramesh Angral, said that the girls were handed over to the PoK officials who expressed their gratitude to the Indian Army, the J&K police and civil administration for taking care of the siblings and sending them home within a day.

According to reports from PoK, the orphan girls had crossed the LoC from Abbaspur sector reportedly after some domestic squabble. They were received by the PoK authorities through Tetrinote crossing at 10.30 am (Pakistan standard time), the reports said.