Chandigarh: Two Indians were taken into custody in Pakistan after they were swept away by the swollen Sutlej river from a village along the international border in Punjab's Ferozepur district, the police said on Sunday.
Ratanpal Singh and Havinder Singh of Sidhwan Bet in Ludhiana were apprehended by the Pakistani Rangers on Saturday and the Border Security Force (BSF) was informed too, the police said. "We are awaiting their handover to the BSF. Only after their arrival, we will reveal the exact reason for their crossing to Pakistan," a police officer told IANS on Sunday.
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The Sutlej River, Indus, Ravi River and Beas Rivers flow along India-Pakistan bordering areas. Sutluj River is the longest of the five rivers that flow through Punjab in northern India and Pakistan's historic crossroads region. The Indus is an Asian transboundary and trans-Himalayan river that flows through South and East Asia. The river begins in Western Tibet, travels northwest through Kashmir's Ladakh and Gilgit-Baltistan areas, and then flows south-by-southwest through Pakistan until emptying into the Arabian Sea near Karachi's port.
The rains have returned to Pakistan a year after the climate-induced downpour swelled rivers and inundated one-third of the country, killing more than 1,700 people. The unprecedented floods also caused $30bn in damages in the cash-strapped South Asian nation. At least 50 people, including eight children, have been killed in weather-related incidents triggered by heavy monsoon rains that have lashed Pakistan for two weeks, officials said. (Agencies)
