A grief divided: funeral held on the Kishanganga’s banks prompts calls to reopen LoC crossing points
The funeral of Raja Liaquat Ali Khan on the banks of the Kishanganga river highlighted the human impact of closed Line of Control crossing points, as his family from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir could only mourn from afar. Khan, from Keran village in Kupwara, died on April 26, leaving relatives separated by the LoC unable to cross since the route was shut in 2019. The emotional scene has reignited calls to reopen the crossing points for divided families. The Kishanganga, known as the Neelam in Pakistan, symbolizes both connection and division for communities split by the border.
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When Raja Liaquat Ali Khan died of a heart attack on April 26, his divided family gathered on both banks of the 300-foot wide Kishanganga river to conduct a unique funeral that has renewed the spotlight on the closed crossing-points across the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir.Khan was a resident of Kupwara’s Keran village, which abuts the LoC. Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) lies on the other side, where the river is known as the Neelam. A ten-minute walk connecting the two sides was closed by the Union government in 2019, meaning that Khan’s brothers and sisters, who have been living on the POK side since 1989, were forced to bid him farewell from a distance, watching the funeral from across the waters.
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Hindu.
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