Malerkotla man returns home after 16 years in Pak jail
SANGRUR: After spending 16 years in several Pakistan jails, 42-yearold Ghulam Farid finally met his 95-year-old mother Sadakin as he crossed the Wagha border to come back home on Tuesday. in August 2003, Farid was about 26 years old when he left for Pakistan to meet his relative. However, he forgot the expiry date of his visa upon which Punjab police arrested him some time later.
Alhough the family did not know whether Farid was alive or dead, the mother and son are now thanking MP Amritsar, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, who helped him return home. “I have met my mother after 16 years and I am very happy. I had gone to meet my relatives but police arrested me and the court sentenced me to 13 years imprisonment,” said Farid upon reaching Malerkotla on Wednesday.
“I was released on August 5, but when Article 370 was scrapped in India, they jailed me again. I was then released on November 25 and my friends and relatives are coming to meet me. It is my second birth,” he added.
Ghulam Farid was initially lodged in Sialkot jail then in Kot Lakhpat jail of Lahore.
“I had lost all hope but my son’s return has made very happy. I have not eaten anything today, all I can do is look at him again and again. I prayed a lot before Allah. God should also release other inmates so that can meet their mothers,” said Sadakin.
“I pray for Gurjeet Singh Aujla’s long life for he helped my son return home,” she added.
Meanwhile, in a statement, Aujla said the matter had come to his notice through media, after which he contacted the family and arranged their meetings with minister of external affairs and other officials concerned. “A passport was sent to Pakistan and he returned home,” the press statement reads.