In a humanitarian gesture amid soaring tensions, Pakistan on Saturday handed over soldier Chandulal Babulal Chohan back to India after he inadvertently crossed the Line of Control (LoC).

“Pakistan has handed over an Indian soldier, Chandu Babulal Chohan, to Indian authorities this afternoon (January 21) at 1430 hrs through Wagah border. The Indian soldier deserted his check post in the Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir and crossed the Line of Control over severe grievances with his superiors and leadership. Pakistan convinced the soldier to return to India being an Indian national and address his grievances through local grievance mechanisms,” said a statement issued by the Pakistan Foreign Ministry.

Chohan, who belonged to the Rashtriya Rifles, traversed to the other side of the border on September 30 last year, a day after India claimed it had launched the so-called surgical strikes on the terror launch pads located across the LoC in Pakistan.

Indian Army had then said Chohan had crossed over to Pakistan “accidentally” and he was not involved in the surgical strikes.

”The decision of the government of Pakistan to return the Indian soldier is based on humanitarian grounds and the commitment to ensure peace and tranquillity at the LoC and the Working Boundary. Despite Indian belligerence, Pakistan believes in peaceful neighbourhood and rejects all actions aimed at undermining regional peace and security,”Pakistan said.

Pakistan and India have exchanged prisoners and fishermen on several occasions in the past but never before had there been a case when an army man was sent back with full dignity and honour.

This was an unprecedented move by Islamabad considering both sides had been engaged in a bitter blame game accusing each other of repeated ceasefire violations. This led India to suspend resumption of dialogue with Pakistan and even boycott the SAARC Summit that was supposed to take place in Islamabad.

Ties between both neighbours started to plummet since the terror attacks at Pathankot Air Force base took place on January 2, 2016, which was allegedly masterminded by Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad.

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