WAGHA BORDER: India and Pakistan repatriated 76 prisoners held by both the countries. Most on the Indo-Pak border here on Monday. While 37 Indian prisoners, held in Pakistani jails entered India, 39 Pakistani prisoners were sent home.
The repatriation of the prisoners was done under the supervision of Indian and Pakistani authorities. The Indian side was led by Mr Surdarshan Kumar, second secretary in the Indian embassy at Islamabad and the Pakistani side by Mr Hoorubdin Suhail officer on special duty (OSD) home department Punjab.
Three out of the 37 Indian prisoners who returned to their country lost their mental balance during their imprisonment. Most of these prisoners, who fail from different places ranging from Jammu to Kerala had entered Pakistan unlawfully and were caught. Three amongst them who were working in Iran were pushed into Pakistan by the Iranian authorities on the expiry of their valid visas.
Mohiqbdin (75), hailing from Kerala, entered Pakistan from Gujarat but was caught. He spent two years in prison Naib Rasul (24) from Andhra Pradesh, said that after being duped by a travel agent he slept in a stationary was in at New Delhi railway station and found himself at the Lahore railway station next morning. He was apprehended and lodged in the Lahore jail for over two years.
Haji (42), belonging to Gujarat, wanted to meet his relatives in Sind and crossed over without any visa from Gujarat border. A father of five children, he spent four years in various Pakistani jails.
Mohammed Ayub Khan (32) a matriculate from Jaipur did not want to get married according to the wishes of his parents and crossed over to Pakistan from Kokhrapar area. He was caught in Hyderabad (Pakistan) and remained in jail for two years. Saquil (35) hailing from Jind, was a hard drinker and boarded a train under the influence of liquor and the train took him to Pakistan, He was imprisoned for two and half years. Balkar Singh of Kollaneal village in Faridkot, lost his way during night and was caught by the Pakistani Rangers in October 1988. Karam Singh of Gujarat could not tell anything except the name of his village.
Raj Kumar, of Delhi, who had a flourishing business in Iran, was pushed by the Iranian authorities into Pakistan after the expiry of his visa on October 13, 1989. Sarup Chand of Hoshiarpur and Paramjit Ram of Jalandhar, who were working as laborers in Iran, were also pushed into Pakistan.
Prisoners from both the sides narrated their harrowing experiences in the jails on both sides of the border. The Indian prisoners confided that in the absence of medical facilities many Indian prisoners had died during the past six months.
Interestingly, two of the Pakistani prisoners who went back to their homes entered India due to their fascination for Indian film stars.
Mohammed Iqbal (22) a handsome youngster who had a video business at Bhawalnagar in Pakistan could not resist the temptation to meet Juhi Chawla, Indian film actress and model. He crossed the border during night in the Sri Ganganagar sector. He wanted to go to Bombay to meet her but was caught when he enquired about the way to go to Delhi.
An Amitabh Bachtan fan Mohammed Hanif of Lahore wanted to see his movie idol and boarded the Attan bound tain without any papers. He was caught on the railway station and spent two and a half years at Amritsar jail.
Ghuiam Rassol (74), an ex-servicemen, crossed into Indian Territory in April 1988 and was caught. He was imprisoned in Ganganagar jail.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 19, 1991
