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Eight Pak nationals repatriated
The four Pakistani boys who were released from the Faridkot juvenile jail, at the Wagah joint check-post before crossing over to Pakistan on Tuesday. |
Wagah (Amritsar), February 17
In keeping with the positive tone of the Indo-Pak talks in Islamabad, eight Pakistani nationals were today repatriated to their country after spending nearly a year in Indian jails. Border Security Force (BSF) Commandant D K Sharma handed over the eight youths to the Pakistani Rangers Head Sher Zaman Khan here this afternoon. The boys who crossed over to Pakistan were Hemraj, (22) Heema Bhoju (19), Vishnu Darga (19) and Bhaji Bhai (brought from Gujarat), and Sagar Ali, Babbar Ali, Muhhamed Sabar and Amjad Khan from the Faridkot Juvenile jail. The boys, aged between 15 to 21, had strayed into the Indian territory mistakenly and it was proved that they had nothing to do with nefarious activities against the Indian nation, officials said. They were issued emergency travel documents by the Pakistan high commission in Delhi to cross
over into their home territory. Before leaving for their homeland, the cheerful boys told reporters at the Wagah border outpost that they were not meted out biased treatment in Indian prisons and were also imparted education in the jails and provided clothes and food.
Meanwhile, four of the seven Pakistani boys who were released from the Faridkot Juvenile Jail today expressed mixed feelings before leaving for their country. Though happy at the prospect of meeting their respective parents after a year, the boys expressed shock at the attitude of the Pakistan Government for failing to seek the repatriation of the remaining three boys — Naseer Ali, Asif Ali and Altaf Shah. Earlier one of their colleagues, Dinesh Kumar, a Hindu boy, was transferred from here to Pakistan on November 14. In a choked voice, the four boys appealed to their government to make arrangements for the release of other three boys soon. The boys praised Mr Hussan Lal, Deputy-Commissioner, Faridkot, who visited the Observation Home frequently to look after their problems. They also praised Mr P.H. Vaishnav and Ms Oshima Raikhy, president and member of the Aruna Asif Ali Trust, New Delhi, who sent them Id greetings. Before their departure, the boys were given gifts by Mr Hussan Lal, Deputy-Commissioner-cum-Chairman, District Cultural and Red Cross Society. A portrait of Sufi saint Baba Sheikh Farid was also presented to the boys.
— PTI and TNS
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