Jammu:
Homecoming has been a long and arduous journey for 50-year-old Amar Singh, a retired soldier of the Indian Army, who was whisked away by the ISI sleuths in April 2010.
He had gone to Pakistan to visit the Sikh shrines and while he was waiting to board the train for India, he was taken away.
Released now, nine months later, Singh says he does not know where he was kept and claims to have been subjected to brutal torture.
''They kept asking me which Indian agency sent you here, and why," said Amar Singh.
His family too went through a harrowing time as they had to repeatedly approach the Pakistan agencies to keep up the pressure on his release. Now, they can heave a sigh of relief.
''I am happy to have my husband back,'' said Amar Singh's wife, Kuldeep Kaur.
Union Minister Farooq Abdullah claimed Amar Singh's detention was a serious matter and an issue that will come up in the SAARC meet in Bhutan.
"Government of India will certainly raise this issue when they talk to Pakistani minister in Bhutan... I am sure they will put this forward to them,'' said Union Minister for New & Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah.
After the Mumbai attack, the dwindling Indo-Pak relations hit a new low and incidents like these are certainly not helping the cause of friendship in any way. However, with ministers from both sides meeting very often, there is certainly a wind of change. Change for the better.