Kin of Hamid worried, pray for his well-being

MUMBAI: Mumbai resident Hamid Ansari’s petition for remission and release in the Peshawar high court has his mother Fauzia worried. The tone of her voice is the same it has been since he went missing – haggard, pleading and praying for Ansari’s well-being.

Ansari has been languishing in Pakistan prison since 2012.

Ansari, a 32-year-old IT engineer, claimed to have gone to Pakistan to meet a woman he befriended on Facebook. Ansari went missing on November 2012 after his mother lost contact with him. Fauzia, a teacher, had been relentless in finding her son.

She said her lawyer in Pakistan informed her the country has admitted in the court that Ansari was in their custody and was charged with espionage and sentenced to three years.

Fauzia contests the “baseless and false” charges.

Speaking to HT on Wednesday, she said, “Our lawyer has filed a petition that stay should be considered on the charges against my son. The petition is for remission and release and I hope the high court will consider that. We have not heard more.”

Fauzia’s voice is almost a whisper but she is persisting.

“I have only been praying and I know he is innocent and he is not involved in anything he has been charged for. The allegations are wrong. Look...at his past record, he hasn’t been part of any such activities.”

In August last year, he was assaulted in the prison. Ansari’s mother has also approached external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj requesting the government’s intervention.