Efforts on to secure release of captured soldier, claims Indian defence minister

Pakistan Army has denied reports that it captured Indian soldier alongside the LoC

Days after an Indian soldier reportedly went missing near the Line of Control (LoC), Manohar Parrikar has claimed that efforts are afoot to bring back the soldier from the “custody of Pakistan Armed Forces”.

Pakistan Army has denied reports that it captured an Indian army soldier alongside the de facto border between the two nuclear-armed south Asian neighbours.



However, Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Sunday said, “The DGMO has informed [his] Pakistan counterparts by hotline and the standard mechanism to secure the soldier’s release has been activated.”

Replying to media queries, the defence minister said efforts were being undertaken by the central government to bring home 22-year-old Sepoy Chandu Babulal Chavan of the 37 Rashtriya Rifles.

According to The Hindu, Chavan was posted in Mendhar district of Indian-Occupied Kashmir (IoK) near the LoC with Rashtriya Rifles when he allegedly went missing on Thursday morning, soon after India claimed to have carried out “surgical strikes” against militants in Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK). Pakistan, however, categorically denied the Indian claims and said two of its soldiers were killed in unprovoked cross-border firing from the Indian side of the border.



Parrikar reiterated that the captured soldier had nothing to do with the “surgical strikes” carried out by the special forces of the Indian army along the LoC on last Wednesday. Despite assurances from Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh that all measures were being taken to bring him home, Chavan’s family has plunged into a state of shock following news of his reported capture.