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Divided by the LoC, a Kashmir Family Says Goodbye Across the River

The riverbank funeral highlights how a visible border still blocks reunions.

Overview

  • Liyaqat Ali Khan, a naib tehsildar posted in Ganderbal, died after a cardiac arrest, with his body brought to his native Keran on Saturday.
  • Relatives in Pakistan-administered Kashmir stood on the opposite bank of the Kishanganga river to watch as mourners placed his coffin by the water for a final view.
  • Videos shared online show people calling out across the water, and residents said many on both sides had followed his hospital stay on social media.
  • Keran sits on the Line of Control, where the Kishanganga, called the Neelum in PoK, runs between homes and has left many families split since migrations in the 1990s.
  • Past links such as the Srinagar–Muzaffarabad bus and cross-LoC trade once reconnected kin but were suspended in 2019, and there is no sign of new crossing options.