Reported by Ahmad Ullah
SOST: Authorities in Pakistan and China have arrested eight individuals near the Kilik/Mintaka and Misgar border areas, officials confirmed.
According to initial reports, the group, reportedly residents of Lahore and Gujranwala, arrived in Sost a few weeks ago before moving toward Misgar, a remote border village, claiming they were there for sightseeing. They reportedly spent a night at Qalandarchi Fort before allegedly attempting to cross into Chinese territory, a journey that involves nearly a 10-hour walk through an uninhabited region.
Chinese border authorities arrested six members of the group after they crossed the border and informed their Pakistani counterparts of the incident. They also reported that one individual had “disappeared,” prompting a large-scale search operation in the rugged terrain.
After an 18-day hunt, Pakistani forces located and arrested the missing individual inside Pakistan. Officials said he was hungry, dehydrated, and unable to walk. A second man, believed to be connected to the same group, was later arrested in Misgar by Pakistani authorities, bringing the total number of detainees to eight.
The motive behind the attempted border crossing remains unclear.
One detainee, arrested on the Pakistani side, claimed in an interview with Pamir Times that they had crossed into China “inadvertently.”
