Hamid Nehal Ansari was greeted by his family and many officials at the Wagah border
Highlights
- Hamid Nehal Ansari was greeted by his family at the Wagah border
- Pak had accused him to be a "spy who was involved in anti-state crimes"
- He was sent to jail for 3 years but was not released after his term ended
An engineer from Mumbai, who spent the last six years in a jail in Pakistan on espionage charges, has crossed the Attari-Wagah border to reach India. He was released earlier today.
Hamid Nehal Ansari, 33, was greeted by his family and many officials at the Wagah border. After entering India, he and his family knelt down and touched the soil with their foreheads. In an emotional reunion, his parents, Nehal and Fauzia, hugged their weary-looking son. An official then handed him a bottle of water.
The family then left with the many officials present without any interaction with the media.
Islamabad had alleged that Mr Ansari was an "Indian spy" who illegally entered Pakistan and accused him of being involved in anti-state crimes, forging documents.
Mr Ansari, however, had left India for Afghanistan's capital Kabul for employment in November 2012, and since then was reported "missing".
News agency IANS quoting reports says he became friends with a Pakistani girl on social media and reached Kohat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to save her from a forced marriage.
He was arrested by Pakistan authorities when he crossed over from Afghanistan border in Jalalabad to Peshawar in Pakistan on November 12, 2012. He was sentenced to three years in jail by a military court, but even after his jail term ended, Mr Ansari was not released from prison.
The foreign ministry said that it has received a note from Pakistan that they would be releasing Mr Ansari on Tuesday.
"It is a matter of great relief, especially for the family members, that six years of incarceration of the Indian civilian in Pakistan jail is coming to an end," Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.
(With inputs from IANS)