Jailed in Pakistan where he went to save his lover, Indian man finally walks free

Hamid-Nihal-Ansari Hamid Nihal Ansari | ANI via Twitter

Hamid Nihal Ansari is an ordinary man, but his life experiences can inspire tearjerker movies. A lovelorn youth, Ansari strayed into Pakistan to rescue his lady love from a forced marriage, only to find himself captured by the authorities on charges of being a spy and left to languish in the jail for years.

Ansari's story, however, has a happy ending, even if there are no wedding bells. The Pakistani authorities released the 33-year-old Mumbaiite on December 17, after Prime Minister Imran Khan himself intervened. Ansari, who spent the last three years in Peshawar jail, was brought back to India via Wagah border on Tuesday.

Ansari, who was working in a firm in Kabul, went missing in 2012. He had reportedly crossed the border at Kohat, to rescue a Pakistani girl he had befriended on social media. It was only after his mother, Fauzia Ansari, filed a habeas corpus petition that she learnt he was in the custody of Pakistani Army, and was being tried in a military court. He was subsequently sentenced to three years in prison for possessing fake Pakistani documents.

The Pakistan India People's Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD) played an important role in securing his release, appealing to Khan for his release after his jail term ended on December 15 after it became evident that the authorities were not too keen to let him go at the end of the term, citing bureaucratic problems like release papers. Good Samaritans from both sides kept the pressure up, resulting in Ansari finally walking out of jail and homewards on Tuesday.

“PIPFPD and many other campaigners for Hamid's release have consistently maintained that while he violated the Passport Act etc., he is innocent of the kind of charges that were made against him,'' said a statement by the forum. “He entered Pakistan 'illegally' to meet his love on Kohat....Hamid was sentenced to three years in January 2016. He was already in custody for a long while before that. Hamid and his family have paid a heavy price for his rather naive act, and have been in turmoil for the past several years,'' the statement added.

Fauzia had kept the campaign for his release alive, constantly appealing to the authorities on both sides. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj made over 90 appeals for consular access to him, but in vain. The ministry of external affairs had then made public appeals for his release. Responding to the developments, the MEA said, “It is a matter of great relief, especially for the family members, that six years of incarceration of the Indian civilian in Pakistan jail is coming to an end. We would like Pakistan to take action to also end misery of other Indian nationals and fishermen whose nationality has been confirmed and who have completed their sentences, but continue to languish in Pakistan jails.”

“We also await Pakistan's response to the visit of Indian medical team to meet mentally unsound prisoners with a view to facilitate their nativity verification and subsequent repatriation. We hope that Pakistan would respond and organise an early visit of the Joint Judicial Committee so that the issue of prisoners can be dealt with in a humanitarian and timely manner.''

While hundreds of Indian prisoners still languish in jails across the border, Ansari at least, walked into India at the culmination of the Beating the Retreat ceremony at Wagah. Here is one hero who walks from the sunset, and not into it. The mystery girlfriend, however, is nowhere in the frame.





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