Anida Khan made it safely over the mountainous Line of Control dividing Pakistani and Indian Kashmir, where Indian troops are posted in huge numbers to shoot Islamic militant infiltrators, before she was arrested.

"She was handed over by police and civil officials to their Pakistani counterparts during one of the border meetings on Thursday," a police official said.

"She was not a militant nor an anti-national element," the officer said.

Khan had told police she fled after she was being forced to marry against her wishes.