India to reciprocate goodwill gesture by releasing Pakistani inmate soon

Pakistani mission in New Delhi and relatives of Imran Warsi are informed that he will soon reunite with them

LAHORE: Days after an Indian man was repatriated on completion of his jail term by the Pakistani authorities, their Indian counterparts have decided to reciprocate the goodwill gesture by releasing a Pakistani man languishing in Indian prison for over a decade.

The Pakistani high commission in New Delhi and relatives of the Pakistani man, Imran Warsi, were informed by the Indian authorities on Saturday that he will soon be freed and sent back to Pakistan. Time and date of the release were, however, yet to be finalised.

Pakistani mission in New Delhi and different rights groups have played a key role in Warsi’s likely release.



The 36-year-old man from Karachi was handed a 10-year jail term on charges of ‘spying for Pakistan’ in Bhopal. His sentence was completed on January 19 earlier this year.

Warsi had gone to India to see his relatives via Wagah Border on December 26, 2003. Since he was in love with his Indian uncle’s daughter, he tied the knot with her and decided to settle in India. His Indian relatives also encouraged him and arranged documents necessary to stay in the country.

A few years and two children later, some of his in-laws informed the local police about his presence in Bhopal. He was arrested and sent to jail for 10 years on espionage charges in 2007.



Warsi was not released even after completing his sentence in January this year and shifted to a ‘guardian centre’ in Bhopal on March 14. But, due to a positive gesture of the Pakistan government of releasing Hamid Ansari, the Indian government has also decided to release the Pakistani inmate.

Pakistan’s embassy in New Delhi has confirmed the development. However, the fate of Warsi’s wife and children was unclear thus far.

Ansari, an Indian who illegally crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan in 2012 and was convicted for spying and forging documents in 2015 walked into India on Tuesday, days after conclusion of his punishment as his mother thanked Pakistan government for the ‘goodwill gesture’.