M A I N   N E W S

16 released youths reach Wagah
Varinder Walia and Pawan Kumar

Wagah, September 8
After their nightmarish stay in various jails of Pakistan, 16 youths from Punjab and Haryana today returned to India.

After reuniting with their families, the youths pledged never to look for greener pastures abroad. They had been duped by ‘fake’ travel agents and first caught in Lebanon while attempting to cross over to Greece. When the Lebanon police pushed them towards the border with Turkey the guards snatched their passports and belongings, including cash, before pushing them into Iran.

Their misfortune did not end here. After the Iranian police threw the Punjabi youths out of their country, they landed themselves in Pakistani jails, where they faced inhuman conditions. They were put in jail for one to six years.

The released youths said many Indians, including women, had been languishing in Pakistani jails. Harwinder Singh of Goraya village (Hoshiarpur) said though the Indian women had been lodged in separate cells, he happened to meet one of them in court. She had lost her mental balance.

He said 10 to 12 Indian prisoners had died due to a lack of medicare in jails or torture. Their remains were still lying in Pakistani jails, awaiting last rites.

Expressing anguish over the lack of coordination on part of the Indian embassy in Pakistan in pursuing the cases. Harwinder Singh said many Indians were languishing in Pakistani jails well after their jail terms because their cases had not been taken up with the Pakistan authorities. Officials from the Indian embassy visited Pakistani jails whenever they wanted some verification and never bothered for the condition of Indian prisoners.

Inderjit Singh of Ambala, who was released from the Kot Lakhpat Rai jail (Lahore), said his jail term for six months had been extended to about two years as there had been nobody to pursue his case. Before landing himself in this Pakistani jail, he received inhuman treatment in Iran. “I got some relief on entering the Pakistani jail,” he said.

Satnam Singh of Gurdaspur, after he was thrown out of Lebanon immediately after his arrival, could not earn even a single penny to sustain himself.

The other youths released from the Pakistani jails today were Rajwinder Singh (Patiala), Harmesh Lal and Shiv Kumar (both from Nawanshahr), Sukhwinder Singh (Ambala), Bachitar Singh, Balwinder Singh, Surjit Singh, Sarvjit Singh (all from Kurukshetra), Rakesh Singh (Yamunanagar), Kuldip Singh (Jalandhar), Manminder Singh, Harwinder Singh and Kehar Singh (all from Hoshiarpur district).

Besides the relatives of the released youths, some politicians also landed at the Wagah joint checkpost. Earlier the youths were received by the BSF Commandant, Mr D.K. Sharma, who offered them tea and snacks.