India Hands Over Eight Pakistani Soldiers in Kashmir
August 28, 1999 - 0:0
NEW DELHI, India Indian officials on Friday handed over eight Pakistani prisoners of war to Red Cross authorities to be repatriated back to their country, the foreign ministry said. The Pakistani soldiers were captured in the mountains of Kargil sector where a 11-week battle raged as Indian soldiers evicted Pakistan-backed intruders. Pakistan denied Indian allegations that its soldiers were involved and said the fighters were all local Kashmiris demanding independence.
On the eve of Pakistan's Independence Day, Aug.13, India announced it would hand over the eight soldiers as an act of goodwill, despite Islamabad's stand on their identity. Pakistan subsequently agreed to take back the soldiers after verifying their identity, a foreign office statement said. Hundreds of soldiers and Pakistani fighters were killed or wounded in the battle that ended in July in India-held Kashmir. India said hundreds of Pakistan-backed fighters sneaked across the cease-fire line and occupied mountaintops vacated in winter by Indian soldiers.
(AP)
On the eve of Pakistan's Independence Day, Aug.13, India announced it would hand over the eight soldiers as an act of goodwill, despite Islamabad's stand on their identity. Pakistan subsequently agreed to take back the soldiers after verifying their identity, a foreign office statement said. Hundreds of soldiers and Pakistani fighters were killed or wounded in the battle that ended in July in India-held Kashmir. India said hundreds of Pakistan-backed fighters sneaked across the cease-fire line and occupied mountaintops vacated in winter by Indian soldiers.
(AP)