Guj cattle herder who crossed over to Pak in 2008 returns to India

A cattle herder fromGujarat's Kutch district, who had inadvertently crossed overto Pakistan in 2008 and was arrested there on charges ofspying, has finally returned to India after languishing in theneighbouring country's jails, officials said.

Ismael Sama, 60, from Nana Dinara village in Kutch,located some 60 kms from the Pakistan border, had mistakenlycrossed over to Pakistan while grazing his cattle.

He was arrested and kept in the jails of that countrybefore he was released two days back following the IslamabadHigh Court's order on a plea moved by the Indian HighCommission there.

Sama reached Amritsar after crossing over to theIndian territory through Wagah-Attari international border onFriday, officials at Attari said.

Some of his family members also reached Amritsar toreceive him, sources said.

The authorities in Amritsar are completing someformalities, including Sama's medical examination, after whichhe would be handed over to his family, the officials said.

He was received by Fajal Sama, who runs an NGO in hisvillage, and his relative Yunus Sama, on Saturday at theIndian Red Cross Society in Amritsar.

''I had mistakenly crossed over to the Pakistan sidewhile grazing my cattle. They called me a spy and an agent ofRAW. ISI kept me in jail for six months, then handed me overto the Pakistan Army. I was in their custody for three yearsbefore being sentenced to five years in jail. Even aftercompleting my sentence in October 2016, I was not released,''Sama said over phone from Amritsar.

''I remained in Hyderabad Central Jail for seven yearsuntil 2018. Thereafter, I was sent to Karachi Central Jailalong with two other Indians,'' he said.

Fajal Sama, also a native of Nana Dinara village,said, ''After his disappearance in 2008, Sama's family membershad no idea on his whereabouts till 2017, and could onlysurmise that he might have been arrested in Pakistan, but hadno documentary evidence.'' ''It was confirmed only after another person from aneighbouring village, who was released from Pakistan in 2017,returned and told us that Sama was with him in the jailthere,'' he said.

Journalist and peace activist Jatin Desai said thatafter learning about Sama's case, Pakistan-India Peoples'Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD) and a local NGO startedcontacting the two governments and writing to the PakistanHigh Commission requesting his release.

''He had mistakenly crossed over to Pakistan in 2008through the border as there was no fence then. Cattle herderwould inadvertently cross over to the other side. He crossedover by mistake and was caught,'' Desai said.

His release was made possible after the Indian HighCommission petitioned for the release of four Indian prisonerswho had completed their sentences long back, he said.

''When the case was heard on January 14, the court wastold that three of them have already been released. As forIsmael, Pakistan's deputy attorney general told the court thathe will be released,'' Desai said.

He said that peace activists in the two countries havebeen demanding that prisoners like Sama be released andrepatriated on the same day their sentence gets over.

''If we talk of the two countries, I'd say there isonly one case, that of Hamid Ansari, who was released andrepatriated on the same day that his sentence got over in2018, and returned immediately to India,'' he said.

However, people are sometimes forced to languish dueto delay in confirmation of nationality, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)