The news that Pakistan had agreed to repatriate Indian national and Versova resident Hamid Nihal Ansari on completion of his prison term on December 15 has brought great joy to his mother, Fauzia Ansari. The woman, who has been tirelessly fighting to make her son’s return possible, said on Friday that after six long years she was finally hearing some news that was soothing to her heart.
Ms. Ansari, who is yet to receive the court papers, said she could confirm the development through information she received from her lawyer Qazi Muhammad Anwar and a few friends in the media. Ms. Ansari said she wanted no more delay in her son’s release.
A retired junior college teacher, Ms. Ansari said, “For me, this news is like there is a lot of water in front of me, but I cannot drink it. I just cannot wait for December.” On Thursday, the Peshawar High Court rejected Hamid’s writ petition seeking remissions in his prison term. The Pakistani Attorney-General told the court that Hamid would be handed over to Indian authorities through the Wagah border within 24 hours after completion of his prison term. Ms. Ansari said, “I only want to know the date so that I can book my tickets to reach Wagah.”
Ms. Ansari termed her son entering Pakistan a ‘small mistake’. She said, “It was a light crime. Hamid cannot be treated like a spy and charged for activity that he never carried out.” Hamid, who was a teacher at the Mumbai Management College, entered Pakistan on November 12, 2012, to meet a woman whom he had befriended on social media. Two days later, Pakistani intelligence agencies and local police apprehended him from a hotel in Kohat district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Hamid Nihal Ansari
Pakistani security agencies claimed that Hamid had entered Pakistan through Afghanistan without travel documents and used a fake identity card using the name Hamza. In December 2015, a military court slapped charges of espionage and involvement in anti-state activities against Hamid and sentenced him to three years imprisonment in Mardan Central Prison. Hamid later filed a petition challenging the allegations of being a spy and sought better treatment during his solitary confinement in prison.
Ms. Ansari later filed a habeas corpus petition in the Peshawar High Court and the court informed her that her son was in the custody of the Pakistani army and was being tried by a military court. In August 2016, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj requested the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad to seek consular access to Hamid after Ms. Ansari met her in Delhi. She still religiously makes a trip to Ms. Swaraj’s office every alternate month.
Activist and journalist Jatin Desai who has been consistently lobbying for Hamid’s repatriation said it was important to note that the court rejected Hamid’s writ. Ms. Ansari, in the meantime, has urged former cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, who are likely to attend Imran Khan’s inauguration as Pakistan Prime Minister, to raise the issue with Pakistani authorities. Ms. Ansari said, “There are four months to go. But who knows, our actions might lead to an early release.”
