SRINAGAR: In a rare humanitarian gesture, the mortal remains of a young boy from Ladakh, who drowned in the Suru River last month and was later traced across the Line of Control in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), were handed over to Indian authorities at the Teetwal crossing in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district.
The body of Zulqarnain Ali, aged between six and nine years according to officials and local sources, reached his native village Hunderman in Kargil district on Wednesday after being received by authorities a day earlier at the Teetwal bridge, a traditional crossing point between the two sides of Kashmir.
The bridge, which had remained closed for civilian movement since 2019 following deterioration in India-Pakistan ties after the abrogation of Article 370, was temporarily reopened to facilitate the repatriation of the body.
A senior Ladakh Police officer confirmed that the mortal remains were formally handed over by authorities from across the border on Tuesday before being transported to Kargil.
The incident dates back to March 20 when Zulqarnain and another child reportedly drowned while playing near the Suru River in Hunderman. While one body was recovered soon after the incident, the second child’s body was swept downstream into Baltistan across the LoC.
Police had registered a missing report under FIR No. 9/2026 at Kargil Police Station following the incident.
Officials said the matter was subsequently taken up with higher authorities, following which coordination led to the retrieval and return of the body from the other side of the border.
Kargil-based political leader Sajjad Kargili, who raised the issue with India’s Ministry of External Affairs, described the return of the body as a humanitarian act deserving appreciation.
“We appreciate the humanitarian gesture shown by the administrations on both sides. Humanity must always prevail over hostility,” he said.
Kargili also urged India and Pakistan to establish a formal humanitarian mechanism for the return of bodies and stranded civilians in border regions, proposing the creation of a dedicated exchange point at the Kargil–Kharmang sector.
He said several similar incidents in the past had ended with bodies being buried across the border 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 and Baltistan have suffered decades of separation.
“It is tragic that not only the living remain separated, but even the deceased are often denied a dignified return to their loved ones. Establishing a humanitarian coordination point on the Kargil border is no longer optional — it is a moral and humanitarian necessity,” he added.
