Faridkot: Border Security Force (BSF) constable Surjit Singh went missing in the 1971 India-Pakistan war and three years later, the Indian government declared him a martyr.
Now, four decades later, the news that he is alive and has spent the last 40 years in a Pakistani jail has stunned Surjit Singh's family.
They say they had heard rumours that Surjit was alive from other prisoners who had returned to India and had asked the government for help but no progress was made in the case.
Finally, it was Pak lawyer Ansar Burney who traced Surjit to Lahore's Kotlakhpat jail.
"We joined our hands and asked him to help us.. and he gave us some hope.. Now all we want is that he be released as soon as possible," says Surjit Singh's wife, Angrez Kaur.
Angrez Kaur had returned to her parent's home after news of her husband's 'death' when her son Amrik was just a month old. Amrik, who has never set eyes on his father, says he is hopeful of seeing his parents reunited.
"We are very happy right now.. We request the Indian government and the Pakistani government to release him as soon as possible... To do whatever is required and send him home soon," Amrik Singh says.
Pakistan's recent goodwill gesture of releasing Gopal Dass who spent 27 years in jail has bolstered Surjit Singh's family's hopes even further.
Now, four decades later, the news that he is alive and has spent the last 40 years in a Pakistani jail has stunned Surjit Singh's family.
They say they had heard rumours that Surjit was alive from other prisoners who had returned to India and had asked the government for help but no progress was made in the case.
"We joined our hands and asked him to help us.. and he gave us some hope.. Now all we want is that he be released as soon as possible," says Surjit Singh's wife, Angrez Kaur.
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"We are very happy right now.. We request the Indian government and the Pakistani government to release him as soon as possible... To do whatever is required and send him home soon," Amrik Singh says.
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