The Pakistani national was “healthy and sound”, official sources said. (File) The Pakistani national was “healthy and sound”, official sources said. (File)

Within 24 hours after his capture near the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir, the Border Security Force (BSF) on Saturday handed over a Pakistani national to the Rangers as a goodwill gesture.

Sources said that the Pakistani national was apprehended when he crossed over to the Indian side of the border in Ramgarh sector of Samba district on Friday. The Pakistani national was “healthy and sound”, official sources said. The Pakistani Rangers were also appreciative of the humane approach of the BSF, sources added.

The development comes a week after Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Wing Commander Abinandan Varthaman was returned to India in a”peace gesture” by Islamabad after being captured by Pakistani Army in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

The pilot was captured after his MiG-21 Bison aircraft was shot down by Pakistani Air Force in an aerial combat and he ejected across the Line of Control. The pilot before going down had shot an F-16 of PAF, which had crossed into the Indian air space, in retaliation to airstrikes on Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camps in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan.

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