Army troops based in Thanamandi reunited two boys namely, Moqbool Hussain and Mohd Alhas to their parents. These two 14 year old boys belong to Pangai village in Jammu and Kashmir. This noble gesture moved the people of the village, especially the parents who thanked the Army for reuniting them with their children.

The boys who were students of Class VII were kidnapped at gun point while returning from school by the terrorists of LeT in February last. They were forcibly blindfolded and taken initially to Poonch and finally to the remote village of Hill Kaka through the mountain ridges. During the journey, they were continuously handed over from one group to another. They were treated as prisoners, physically tortured and compelled to join the terrorists. The boys were told that they would soon be taken to POK through Mendhar for training. During this entire stay they were provided with just enough food to keep them alive.

Notwithstanding all these pressures and hardships, these two boys were continually on the look out for an opportunity to escape. Moqbool Hussain once made an unsuccessful attempt to escape, but was caught and thrashed mercilessly by the terrorists.

Recently, the Army had conducted a massive operation to flush out the terrorists from Hill Kaka in which a large number of hardcore terrorists were killed. During this operation, these two boys were rescued from the terrorist camp. Later, they were handed over to their parents.

A function was held on the occasion which was attended by a large number of dignitaries from both Army and civil department. Lt Gen TPS Brar, GOC, 16 Corps handed over the two boys to their parents who were overwhelmed with joy. The parents expressed their gratitude to the Army.