20 years after… : A homecoming dream rekindled
Indian SC agrees to hear plea on Pakistani serving rest of his bail in Karachi.
NEW DEHLI:
Dr Khalil Chishty, an octogenarian Pakistani scientist serving life-imprisonment in an Indian jail, may return home – finally.
In an unexpected move, India’s apex court not only bailed out Dr Chishty but also agreed to hear a separate petition that he serve out the rest of his bail in Karachi. The Supreme Court asked his attorney to file a separate petition for this.
Dr Chishty is 80 now. Indian television channels showed a frail, wizened, bearded man, blinking in the sunlight, being carried out of a prison by two people after the court order was pronounced. Dr Chishty developed myriad health problems in jail, including a broken hip after a fall.
Dr Chisty’s bail seems to be an immediate outcome of President Asif Ali Zardari’s lunch meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday when the two reportedly discussed the case. Top Indian government officials said the prime minister had indicated that he would personally look into the matter.
This was after a plea for clemency, which was processed speedily by the provincial government and the Indian home ministry, was held up by the governor of Rajasthan state, where Dr Chishty was arrested and convicted.
Dr Chishty was sentenced for killing a man during a brawl in Ajmer in April 1992. He was on a pilgrimage to the shrine of famous Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. Since then, he has not been allowed to travel back to Pakistan.
In January last year, Dr Chishty was awarded life imprisonment after an 18-year-long trial. Till then, he had remained largely under house arrest in Rajasthan, his lawyers say.
After he was given the life sentence, he was put in the Ajmer prison.
Now, India is hoping to hear good news about the fate of Sarabjit Singh who has been sentenced to death in Pakistan for spying, though he says he merely strayed into Pakistan by mistake.
Family eagerly awaits Dr Chishty’s arrival
In Karachi, Dr Chisty’s family is eagerly waiting for his arrival. The only information the family had was through the media, but his daughter, Shoa Jawaid said they would be ‘ecstatic’ when her father finally comes home.
“We don’t have many details right now like on what grounds he was released, but we know that for the time being he is in Ajmer,” she said. “At least we would be able to talk to him and visit him.”
Human rights activist Ansar Burney said he is leaving for Ajmer on Wednesday to file a fresh petition in the Supreme Court to appeal for Dr Chishty’s return to Pakistan.
(WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY RABIA ALI IN KARACHI)
Published in The Express Tribune, April 10th, 2012.
Dr Khalil Chishty, an octogenarian Pakistani scientist serving life-imprisonment in an Indian jail, may return home – finally.
In an unexpected move, India’s apex court not only bailed out Dr Chishty but also agreed to hear a separate petition that he serve out the rest of his bail in Karachi. The Supreme Court asked his attorney to file a separate petition for this.
Dr Chishty is 80 now. Indian television channels showed a frail, wizened, bearded man, blinking in the sunlight, being carried out of a prison by two people after the court order was pronounced. Dr Chishty developed myriad health problems in jail, including a broken hip after a fall.
Dr Chisty’s bail seems to be an immediate outcome of President Asif Ali Zardari’s lunch meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday when the two reportedly discussed the case. Top Indian government officials said the prime minister had indicated that he would personally look into the matter.
This was after a plea for clemency, which was processed speedily by the provincial government and the Indian home ministry, was held up by the governor of Rajasthan state, where Dr Chishty was arrested and convicted.
Dr Chishty was sentenced for killing a man during a brawl in Ajmer in April 1992. He was on a pilgrimage to the shrine of famous Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. Since then, he has not been allowed to travel back to Pakistan.
In January last year, Dr Chishty was awarded life imprisonment after an 18-year-long trial. Till then, he had remained largely under house arrest in Rajasthan, his lawyers say.
After he was given the life sentence, he was put in the Ajmer prison.
Now, India is hoping to hear good news about the fate of Sarabjit Singh who has been sentenced to death in Pakistan for spying, though he says he merely strayed into Pakistan by mistake.
Family eagerly awaits Dr Chishty’s arrival
In Karachi, Dr Chisty’s family is eagerly waiting for his arrival. The only information the family had was through the media, but his daughter, Shoa Jawaid said they would be ‘ecstatic’ when her father finally comes home.
“We don’t have many details right now like on what grounds he was released, but we know that for the time being he is in Ajmer,” she said. “At least we would be able to talk to him and visit him.”
Human rights activist Ansar Burney said he is leaving for Ajmer on Wednesday to file a fresh petition in the Supreme Court to appeal for Dr Chishty’s return to Pakistan.
(WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY RABIA ALI IN KARACHI)
Published in The Express Tribune, April 10th, 2012.