‘I will be careful not to play close to border’

Nearly five months after they strayed into Pakistan, two school boys returned to India from the Wagah border today. ‘‘We will be handing them over to the Jammu and Kashmir police after a medical check-up. They will then be sent home,’’ BSF Commandant Pardeep Katyal said.

It was on March 28 when Alamdin (14) and Shakeel (12) were playing in the fields of their Kupwara village near the Indo-Pak border when they came face to face with Pakistan Rangers. That’s when they realised they were no longer on Indian territory.

Alamdin, who studies in Class VI, recalled: ‘‘The moment the Pakistani security forces saw us, they blind-folded us. We were then taken to an unknown place where we remained for a long time.’’ Alamdin, however, made a pledge: ‘‘I will be extra-careful now and will not play too close to the border.’’ Shakeel, a student of Class III, said: ‘‘The Pakistan authorities fed us well. The only problem was that we could not move around and could not ask them where we were.’’