Speaking to Daily Express via telephone from India, Fauzia Ansari said her son has been missing since November 2012 and was in Kohat, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa at the time of his disappearance.
According to Fauzia, Nehal, an engineer, left India to land a job in Afghanistan. “He was in contact with a girl from Kohat via the internet which is why he also went there,” she said.
Nehal rented a room in Palwasha Hotel near Bus Stand in Kohat. But from there, he was picked up by the police and later the security agencies, she claimed.
Nehal’s family has not heard from him since then and has been trying to locate him. Fauzia has filed a petition in the Supreme Court of India seeking the Indian government’s help in the matter and has also submitted an application to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office.
“Being Muslims, we are suspected by Indian authorities and law-enforcement agencies, while in Pakistan, we are suspected of wrongdoing based on our Indian nationality,” Fauzia said.
She requested the Pakistani authorities to release her son on humanitarian grounds.
Zeenat Shehzadi, a human rights activist in Pakistan, is also striving for Nehal’s freedom. She along with Nehal’s mother has filed a petition at the Peshawar High Court, and the court has directed Kohat police to probe the matter and submit a report.
“Nehal’s belongings are in the possession of a man named Hamza,” police officer Faizullah Khan told Daily Express. He confirmed Nehal’s Indian nationality, but refrained from saying anything else.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 21st, 2014.
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