Kashmiris stranded in Pak to return via Attari border
Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir residents who are stranded in Pakistan due to the coronavirus outbreak will return by road via the Attari-Wagah border in Punjab starting June 25, officials said on Monday.
The J&K government will send two senior officers to Attari to coordinate with the local Amritsar administration in making arrangements for their return, they said.
After J&K Chief Secretary BVR Subramanium wrote to the foreign secretary for facilitating the return of Kashmiris stranded in Bangladesh and other countries, many of them have been ferried home. The process to bring others is underway.
Also, special teams were deployed to various states to facilitate the return of Kashmiris in special trains and buses.
Meanwhile, five officials of the Indian High Commission in Pakistan, including the two who were arrested and later released in an alleged hit-and-run case there, returned to the country through the Attari-Wagah border on Monday, officials said.
According to them, those who returned are Air Adviser Group Capt Manu Midha, Second Secretary S Shiv Kumar and staff members Pankaj, Selvadhas Paul and Dwimu Brahma.
Dwimu and Selvadhas were arrested on June 15 in Pakistan in the alleged hit-and-run incident. Both were later released.
After the incident, India had summoned the charge d’ affaires of the Pakistan High Commission, lodging a protest over the “abduction and torture” of two officials of the Indian mission in Islamabad.
The five officials travelled to the Wagah check-post in a car.
They underwent thermal screening and preliminary medical check-up before proceeding to Delhi, the officials said. (with PTI inputs)
KV News
