A young Indian woman and her Pakistani friend are said to have been detained in Kashmir’s Uri when the man allegedly crossed over from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir to meet her on Sunday.
Separately in Uri, three Indians, including a former armyman, were detained by the Indian Army on Sunday on the charge of trying to enter Pakistani territory.
The army said they had detained four people in separate incidents along the LoC, who included a resident of PoJK who had sneaked in and three men from Kashmir who were exfiltrating. The army made no reference to the woman, nor offered any details on the others.
Police and local sources, however, said those detained included a young woman from a border village in Uri.
“The woman is from Tulwari village, which is close to the LoC. She and the man who came from PoJK are said to be in love and had fixed a meeting over phone. They were detained after the army found their movements suspicious,” a local told The Telegraph over the phone.
The local said the border fence runs through Tulwari, leaving around a dozen houses on the other side but inside Indian territory. When the LoC fence was erected during peak militancy, stretches had to be set up several hundred metres to a few kilometres inside Indian territory because of opposition from Pakistan. The area between the actual LoC and these fence stretches is Indian territory and is patrolled by the army.
“What we have learnt is that the woman apparently crossed the fence gate... to meet the Pakistani man, who had entered Indian territory. Both were held there,” the local said.
“People of villages along the LoC have relatives on the other side of the fence within Indian territory. It is not uncommon in some border villages to meet acquaintances on the other side of the fence, although it might invite trouble. There is a large army presence here and they keep a close watch to prevent infiltration.”
Police sources said the two were being questioned and had told the security agencies they were in love.
The newspaper is withholding the names of the couple.
In a post on X, the army said: “The vigilant troops maintained restraint while challenging the intruder and surgically apprehended the individual. Intruder handed over to JKP (Jammu and Kashmir police) for further legal proceedings.”
Separately, the army and the police, during a joint operation based on intelligence inputs, detained two persons from Sopore and their guide while they were attempting to cross over into Pakistan. The army said they were exfiltrating with “inimical intent”.
Police sources said one of the individuals from Sopore was a former serviceman.