From the mountainous slope overlooking the world’s most dangerous and highly militarized border called Line of Control (LoC) — dividing Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan — it was an incredible sight on July 21, on the eve of Eid-ul-Adha, the Muslim festival.
Rival soldiers wearing white gloves were shaking hands and exchanging sweets on the narrow rope bridge over the roaring Neelam or Kisanganga River at Teetwal. Just few months ago, these soldiers were targeting each other with mortars and shells.
The small village of Teetwal across the LoC on the Indian side in Karnah tehsil and an Indian military post was visible from the slope.
Redbrick houses with wooden rooftops and people walking on a dirt track were visible across the military line.
Noted Urdu writer Saadat Hasan Manto had immortalized this village by authoring his famous short story The Dog of Teetwal, where he described how soldiers bring the war to peaceful mountains and innocence of nature.
“The men…