Pakistan occupied Kashmir lies on the other side where the river is known as Neelam. The ten-minute walk connecting the two sides was closed by the Union Government in 2019. File. | Photo credit: AP
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 for a unique funeral that renewed attention on the closed border crossings across the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir.
Khan was a resident of Kupwar’s Keran village, which borders the LoC. Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) lies on the other side where the river is known as Neelam. The 10-minute walk connecting the two sides was closed by the Union government in 2019, meaning Khan’s brothers and sisters, who have lived on the POK side since 1989, were forced to bid him farewell from afar, watching the funeral from across the water.
Published – 28 Apr 2026 22:22 IST
