Youth back from India after 16-month incarceration

Mandi Bahauddin resident had crossed Narowal border

LAHORE:

A youth who had mistakenly crossed the border has returned home following his release after spending 16 months in an Indian jail.

Zulqarnain Zafar of Mandi Bahauddin had mistakenly crossed the Pakistan-India border from Narowal in November 2021.

The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi strived for his release through communication with the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs.

Indian authorities handed over Zafar to Punjab Rangers at the Wagah border.

His travel documents were provided by the Pakistan high commission.

According to sources, Zafar thanked the authorities of both Pakistan and India, saying he was happy that he would be able to celebrate the coming Eid with his parents.

There is an agreement between Pakistan and India to return within three days those people who cross the border by mistake, but the security agencies of both sides sometimes take years to release them due to verification of the citizenship and investigation. There are many prisoners in the jails of both countries who had crossed the border by mistake.

The two countries exchanged the details of the prisoners on January 1.

According to the Foreign Office, there were 705 Indian prisoners in Pakistan, including 654 fishermen, while the number of Pakistanis in Indian jails was 434, including 95 fishermen.

Pakistan has repeatedly demanded that those Pakistani citizens whose sentences have been completed in India and citizenship confirmed should be released immediately.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 8^th, 2023.