CHANDIGARH: The accidental crossing of a BSF constable into Pakistani territory has become a diplomatic dead end, as Pakistan Rangers have suspended all flag meetings with Indian forces in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack. With backchannel talks also going nowhere, the return of constable Purnam Kumar Shaw, detained since April 24, remains uncertain.Shaw, a personnel of the 182 Battalion, inadvertently crossed into Pakistani territory on April 24 and was subsequently detained by the Pakistan Rangers. Under normal circumstances, such incidents are resolved swiftly through flag meetings. However, with the current diplomatic freeze, even efforts through formal channels have not yielded any results, a senior official said on condition of anonymity.“The Pakistan Rangers have halted all flag meetings with the BSF. Had the situation been normal, the constable would have returned the same day. With diplomatic engagement also nearly suspended, the delay in Shaw’s return continues,” the official said.BSF has lodged a formal protest with the Pakistan Rangers. A protest note was sent to the sector commander, but the Pakistani side has remained “non-committal” regarding Shaw’s whereabouts or a timeline for his return. Notably, four to five flag meetings had already taken place before the suspension.Sources indicate that Shaw is believed to have been moved to a Rangers base along the Lahore-Amritsar sector.Meanwhile, Rajni Shaw, the constable’s wife, travelled from West Bengal to Punjab on Monday to follow up on the matter with senior officers of the BSF’s Western Command. On Tuesday evening, she was informed that the scheduled flag meeting for Wednesday had been cancelled.In the past, incidents involving inadvertent border crossings by soldiers were typically resolved through flag meetings, with the personnel returned promptly.Separately, the deadline for Pakistani nationals on short-term and medical visas to leave India ended yesterday. A total of 887 Pakistani nationals have returned via the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari in the last six days, including 110 on Tuesday alone.Since April 24, around 1,491 people — including Indian nationals and Pakistani nationals with a No Obligation to Return to India (NORI) certificate and Long-Term Visas (LTV) — have entered India through the ICP at Attari. Of these, 470 people crossed into India on Tuesday itself.
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