Indian Army hands over 7-year-old boy's body to Pak

In a humanitarian gesture, the Indian Army on Thursday handed over the body of a seven-year-old boy from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Abid Ahmad Sheikh, which was recovered from Burzil Nala close to the Line of Control near Acchura village, to the Pakistan Army.

The body was recovered on July 9, and the Indian Army immediately swung into action and were able to establish the identity of the young boy through civil administration, read a statement from the Ministry of Defence.

As per reports, Abid was missing since July 8 and is likely to have slipped into Burzil Nala. In accordance with its ethos, Indian Army established contact with its Pakistan counterpart on the hotline and also convinced the civil administration to delay the last rites, the statement added.

"The local religious head and village elders were taken in confidence to support the noble gesture of handing over the dead body to the family of the deceased young boy at earliest. The locals offered prayers for the deceased at the Dawar Mosque. The social media kept buzzing throughout the day with humanitarian requests to hand over the dead body of the young Abid from both sides of the line of control," the Ministry stated.On July 10, local Commanders at Gurez made efforts to hand over the body to the Pakistan Army commander in Minimarg. Finally, the commanders at the highest level of Indian Army had to intervene and the body was handed over to the Pakistan Army on Thursday nearVillage Dudhgai.The locals appreciated the efforts of the Indian Army to assuage the distress of the family members on humanitarian grounds on Pakistan side of Line of Control.