After release from Pak jail, Hamid Ansari crosses over to India

Neeraj Bagga
Tribune News Service
Attari (Amritsar), December 18

After undergoing six-year imprisonment in Pakistan, Indian national Hamid Nehal Ansari, 33, today crossed over to India through the Attari-Wagah joint check post, about 30 km from Amritsar.

The Pakistan authorities released him after the conclusion of the Retreat ceremony.

Displaying his love for the motherland, Hamid kneeled down and kissed the ground as soon as he entered India. He was accompanied by two officials from the Indian High Commission in Pakistan.

His Mumbai-based family, comprising his mother Faziya Ahmad Nihal Ansari (retired Principal of a government-aided college), father Nehal Ahmad Ansari (retired manager from the Bank of India) and his brother Khalid Ansari, had arrived to receive him at the border.

Tears rolled down the cheeks of Faziya as soon as she hugged her son. Hamid was equally keen to embrace his family members whom he was meeting after an arduous gap of six years. Hamid was immediately whisked away by security forces and was not allowed to speak to the media persons waiting there. The Ansari family did not want to talk about the reasons that drove Hamid to travel to Pakistan. Instead, Fazia said it was time for the family to ponder over his future.

An engineering graduate and MBA degree holder, Hamid was working as a lecturer at a college in Mumbai when he came in contact with a Pakistani girl on Facebook. In 2012, he landed in Pakistan via Afghanistan to meet his friend from Karak, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

However, Pakistan declared him an Indian spy. Nehal Ahmad Ansari thanked the Indian Government in general and Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj in particular for taking keen interest in the return of Hamid.

Mumbai celebrates 

• In a Mumbai suburb, an entire neighbourhood was glued to the TV set on Tuesday to catch a glimpse of Hamid Nihal Ansari, whom they last saw six years ago
• Hamid is expected to return to Mumbai on Wednesday. As soon as the 33-year-old crossed the Wagah-Attari border and kissed the Indian soil, his neighbours in Versova celebrated by hugging each other and distributing sweets