Pak boy who crossed into India acquitted

A 12-year-old differently-abled boy from Pakistan, who crossed over to the Indian territory without any travel documents in May this year, was acquitted by the Juvenile Justice Board at Ferozepur on Tuesday.

Confirming the development, authorities said they will soon start the process for repatriation of the boy, lodged in Faridkot children home.

The Pakistan high commission in New Delhi had earlier written to the ministry of external affairs (MEA) to ensure early release and repatriation of the boy.

He was identified as Hasnain, son of Javed Iqbal, a resident of Lahore.

The high commission had also requested the MEA to convey the date of repatriation of Hasnain at the earliest so that necessary arrangements for issuance of his travel documents may be made.

This had become a subject of cross-border speculation following a Twitter exchange between Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj. Tarar had tweeted a news report that a Pakistani boy with hearing and speech disabilities was lodged in ‘Amritsar jail’, and asked Swaraj to look into the matter.

The Border Security Force (BSF) had detained Hasnain when he crossed over to the Indian side in the Ferozepur sector of Punjab on May 1. He could not speak or hear, and it was only from a currency note in his pocket that they found he was from Pakistan. Two days later, he was sent to children’s observation home. HTC