Ray of hope for hapless 18-yr-old Pakistani boy

EXRAJYA SABHA MEMBER AVINASH RAI KHANNA HAS PROMISED TO TRACE HIS PARENTS IN PAK WITH HELP OF RED CROSS’ RESTORING FAMILY LINK PLAN

HOSHIARPUR : There is finally a hope for the Pakistani boy, who is not able to speak and hear, and has been languishing in the Bal Sudhar Ghar here.

Former Rajya Sabha member and Indian Red Cross Society’s vice-chairman Avinash Rai Khanna has promised to use Red Cross’ Restoring Family Link (RFL) programme to trace his parents in Pakistan.

Taking note of the HT report about the 18-year-old boy, who inadvertently entered the Indian territory in 2015, and continues to suffer in the confines of a juvenile home due to lack of political and diplomatic support, Khanna visited the home for delinquent children at the Ram Colony Camp here and met the boy.

He submitted an application to the Bal Sudhar Ghar superintendent to get the boy’s photo, something that the officials have been denying to make public citing legal complications, so that it could be circulated to establish the boy’s identity.

Superintendent Naresh Kumar said he will forward the request to the Juvenile Justice Board, Gurdaspur, which is hearing the case.

“The International Committee of Red Cross has started the RFL component to locate missing people and put them in contact with their kin. I will use this platform to make sure that the boy is repatriated,” said Khanna. “I will be approaching external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and will request her to help trace the boy’s family in Pakistan,” he added.

He said he will also arrange for an expert, who is able to communicate with the boy.

“We should explore all possible options to identify the boy so that he can be sent home as early as possible,” he said. The boy in question has already spent three years in confinement, which is the maximum time period a delinquent can be detained.