Karachi man released from Indian jail after 18 years, awaits repatriation

After spending nearly two decades behind bars in India, a Pakistani national hailing from Karachi, who has been acquitted by an Indian court of baseless terrorism charges, is on the brink of a long-awaited reuniting with his loved ones in Pakistan.

It was in 2006, when Muhammad Fahad, a resident of Nazimabad, went to India on a visiting visa to meet his paternal grandmother soon after his graduation. 

Fahad was a 24-year-old young man at that time and didn’t have an idea that the end of this visit would lead to 18 years in prison and that he would not reunite with his family waiting for him in Karachi. 

As his visa expired, difficulties surrounded him, and he was arrested on several charges, including terrorism. It has now been eighteen years since Fahad’s incarceration.

"I have been acquitted by the Indian court, and now I am requesting the Pakistani authorities to process my documents so that I can return home," said Fahad, now 42 years old, with grey hair and a line etched on his face. His patience is wearing thin as he yearns to reunite with his loved ones in Pakistan.

According to a Geo News report, the Indian court cleared him from the charges that were unjustly imposed on him, and now he is living in a centre near Bengaluru and waiting for the documents. 

“Pakistan’s foreign affairs department raises such cases with Indian authorities, and after official discussions, Pakistani nationals in India and Indians in Pakistan are repatriated,” said Mumtaz Zehra Baloch, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan.

Earlier, an Indian lady, Hamida Banu, 75, who was a victim of human trafficking, was repatriated to India 18 months after her grandson spotted her in a YouTube video.

Hamida has spent 24 years in Pakistan and reunited with his loved ones after her video went viral on social media.