An LoC exchange to cheer about

There was no resonance of the fact that only the night before, Pakistani Rangers had fired on Indian border outposts in R S Pura Sector. Instead, for about an hour this morning, the BSF officials and Pak Rangers sat down to drink tea and swap pleasantries. The only one who appeared tense was Mustafa—the doctor who gave him a medical examination before he was sent off reported that he was medically fit; only, his pulse rate had slightly increased.

The decision to repatriate Mustafa was taken ‘‘on humanitarian grounds and also as a goodwill gesture,’’ a Defence Ministry spokesman told reporters. A request for his repatriation had been made by the Pakistani DGMO to his Indian counterpart during a telephonic conversation on June 4 this year. Mustafa had been produced before a court which handed down a six-month imprisonment term in July last year.