Row over teenager killed by Indian border troops

03 Aug, 2016

A row between Indian and Pakistani officials over the death of a teenage Pakistani boy on the countries' shared border rumbled on Tuesday, as both sides gave contrasting accounts of how he died. India returned the 17-year-old's body on Monday to the Pakistan Rangers, a paramilitary force that patrols the border, after 24 hours of tense negotiations, Pakistani security official Farman Bashir said.
The teenager was shot by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) in Kasur town near Lahore on Sunday, police official Shafqat Ali told dpa.
According to his parents, the boy crossed over to the Indian side while chasing one of his buffaloes that had been grazing near the border, Ali said.
BSF officials in New Delhi said however that the boy was killed in a shoot-out when a group of five people tried to cross over onto the Indian side.
A BSF official told dpa there were five intruders who opened fire at the guards after they were spotted at the border.
"When our troops returned the fire, one intruder was killed and the rest escaped," he said.
Pakistan officials rejected the allegations, saying there had been no intrusions in the region.
South Asian rivals Pakistan and India have an agreement to return each others' citizens safely if they cross the border inadvertently.
But border troops from both sides often ignore the deal and open fire even on unarmed civilians stranded in the border areas.

Read Comments