Two minor girls from PoK, crossed over to this side of LoC in Poonch on Sunday.

JAMMU: Two minor girls from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) were detained by the security forces after they crossed over to this side of the Line of Control (LoC) in Mendhar area of district Poonch during morning hours.

Both Identified as Laiba Zabair (17 years) and Sana Zabair (13 yrs), residents of village Abbasspur, Tehsil Forward Kahuta in PoK, the two sisters had crossed into Indian side from Mendhar sector in the morning hours, a Defence spokesman said.

He added the Indian troops deployed along the Line of Control, detected the girls crossing over to this side, and exercised complete restraint to prevent any harm to the teenagers. He said efforts were being made for early repatriation. The Army later handed over these girls to local police.

The girls later in a statement to police revealed that their father passed away hardly 15 days ago and their brother forcibly wanted to get them married, which they don’t want. That is why they have crossed over to the Indian side. They further claimed that they do not want to go back to Pakistan. The District Administration Poonch was trying to establish contact with PoK authorities at Kahuta.