2 min readSrinagarMay 6, 2026 09:18 PM IST
The body of a nine-year-old boy from Kargil was handed over to Indian officials by Pakistan Wednesday along the Teetwal-Keran border in Kashmir, reviving calls for a “humanitarian coordination point” on the Kargil border.
Zulqarnain Ali from Hunderman in Kargil had slipped and fallen into the Suru River at Kargil, which flows into Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir Friday. After efforts from local leadership — including activist Sajjad Kargili — the body was returned by Pakistan and he was buried in Kargil Wednesday.
Appreciating the humanitarian gesture, Kargili said: “Humanity must always prevail over hostility,” adding that both the Governments of India and Pakistan, particularly the Foreign Ministries and military authorities, must establish a formal meeting point at the Kargil–Kharmang border. Similar incidents have occurred in the past where bodies recovered in Kharmang had to be buried there due to the absence of any return mechanism”.
The body was returned from Keran because of a lack of a meeting point for authorities on both sides in Kargil.
“For over seven decades, the people of Ladakh and Baltistan have lived with the pain of separation, with thousands of divided families across borders. 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 said.
Just last year, “several such bodies had to be buried in Kharmang (Baltistan)” as a matter of compulsion since the return of their mortal remains could not be arranged between the two governments.
