Hamid Ansari Arrives at His Mumbai Residence After Six Years

Ansari was detained by Pakistan’s intelligence agencies in 2012 for illegally entering the country from Afghanistan.

Hamid Ansari entering his residence with his mother.

(Photo: ANI)

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Repatriated Indian national Hamid Ansari arrived at his residence in Mumbai on Thursday, 20 December, six years after he was arrested in Pakistan.

Hamid Ansari, the Indian national who was released from a Pakistani jail and returned to India on Tuesday, 18 December, met with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in the national capital on Wednesday, 19 December.

Ansari, who was released from Mardan jail on Tuesday, had been detained by Pakistan’s intelligence agencies in 2012 for illegally entering the country from Afghanistan, reportedly to meet a girl he had befriended online.

• Pakistan claimed that Ansari was an “Indian spy who had illegally entered Pakistan and was involved in anti-state crimes and forging documents”
  
• In 2015, he was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment by a military court for possessing a fake Pakistani identity card
  
• Ansari’s jail term had ended on 15 December but he wasn’t able to leave for India as his legal documents weren’t ready

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Updated at:20th Dec, 2018 at 12:05 PM

Versova to Peshwar: How Ansari Was Arrested by Pak

Ansari was 27 when he left home for Kohat in Pakistan. With a degree in engineering and an MBA, Ansari was reportedly working as a management teacher for the education of Afghan Students when he was caught and taken away by the Pakistani authorities in 2012, according to Fauzia in a Facebook post.

Ansari lived with his parents- Fauzia and Nehal- in a rented apartment in Versovain Mumbai. Fauzia is a teacher at a school in Mumbai, and Nehal is a banker.

In an earlier interaction with The Quint, Fauzia had said that Hamid had left for Kabul on 4 November, 2012, on the pretext of having received a job as an airport manager in Afghanistan. Although his parents had advised him against the move, fearing for his safety, he had not relented.

He was in constant contact with his parents everyday for the next few days, until 10 November. He told them that he would return back to Mumbai in two days. But right after this, Ansari went missing, which we now know, is because he had been picked up by Pakistani authorities.

Read the full story here.

Updated at:18th Dec, 2018 at 4:55 PM

Ansari on His Way to India

Indian national Hamid Ansari, who was lodged in Kohat Central Jail in Pakistan, is being sent back to India after six long years. According to sources in the Ministry of External Affairs, Ansari is expected to cross the Wagah border between 2-3 pm on Tuesday, 18 December, and reach Delhi by 6 pm. Once in Delhi, he will meet with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and with Pakistan High Commissioner later in the day.

Ansari is expected to fly to his hometown, Mumbai, on Wednesday, 19 December. He has been in custody since 2012.

Updated at:18th Dec, 2018 at 1:46 PM

Ansari's Family Await His Homecoming

Dr Khalid Ansari, Hamid’s relative, said it was a day of celebration and that they do not want to “look into the past.”

Ansari’s mother, Fauzia Nehal Ahmed Ansari, who is eagerly awaiting his homecoming, said his release was a “victory for humanity.”

“He went with noble intentions, but initially went missing and was later caught and framed. He shouldn’t have gone without a visa. His release is a victory for humanity,” said Fauzia, speaking to ANI.

His father, Nehal Ansari, thanked both the Indian and Pakistani governments for their efforts.

"We are thankful to the government of India and Pakistan as well for every effort... Our family is waiting for Hamid," his father said.

Updated at:18th Dec, 2018 at 1:50 PM

Meet the Heroes Who Helped Bring Hamid Ansari Back Home

Indian national Hamid Ansari, who was lodged in Kohat Central Jail in Pakistan, is being repatriated to India after six long years of being kept a prisoner after a military court in Pakistan had accused him on charges of espionage and convicted him for allegedly being an Indian spy.

Click here to read the full story.

Updated at:18th Dec, 2018 at 4:44 PM

Activist Desai at Wagah to Receive Mumbai Techie Freed by Pak

Journalist and activist Jatin Desai, who made it a mission to get back Hamid Nehal Ansari jailed in Pakistan, accompanied Ansari's family to the Wagah border to receive him following his release.

Desai, who is general secretary of the Pakistan-India Peoples' Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD), had started a dialogue for peace by establishing connection between the Press Club of Mumbai and its counterpart in Karachi.

The city-based activist pursued the case relentlessly by getting in touch with his contacts in the neighbouring country. His efforts led to Pakistani rights lawyers Rakshanda Naz and Qazi Mohammed Anwar taking up the case with authorities in their country.

On getting the news of his release, Desai went along with Hamid's father Nehal Ansari and mother Fauzia Ansari to the Wagah border in Punjab to welcome him and get him back home.

“We reached the Wagah border on Tuesday morning. We all are waiting for Hamid as he is expected to leave from the Pakistan side to India. Hamid’s release formalities will take some time. He will arrive anytime today. We are expected to be in Mumbai tomorrow.”

Jatin Desai

Updated at:19th Dec, 2018 at 7:34 AM

Watch: Hamid Ansari Crosses Wagah Border to Return to India After 6 Yrs

Updated at:18th Dec, 2018 at 5:49 PM

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An Emotional Homecoming for Hamid Ansari at Wagah Border

Hamid Nihal Ansari, who was repatriated by Pakistan after six years in jail, being received by his mother Fauzia Ansari, at Attari-Wagah border in Amritsar, on 18 December.

Hamid Nihal Ansari, who was repatriated by Pakistan after six years in jail, offers prayers along with his mother Fauzia Ansari, father Nehal Ansari and elder brother Khali Ansari on his arrival at Attari-Wagah border in Amritsar on 18 December. 

Updated at:18th Dec, 2018 at 9:43 PM

Hamid Ansari Reaches Delhi, To Meet Sushma Swaraj Today

Hamid Ansari reaches Delhi.

Indian national Hamid Ansari reached Delhi early in the morning on Wednesday.

Upon reaching the national capital, he was quoted by ANI as saying, "I feel really good coming back home. I am very emotional right now."

Updated at:19th Dec, 2018 at 12:23 PM

Hamid Ansari Meets MEA Sushma Swaraj

Hamid Ansari, after returning from Pakistan after six years, met with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in the national capital. According to ANI, Ansari’s mother told Swaraj, "Mera Bharat mahaan, meri madam mahaan, sab madam ne hi kiya hai (My India is great, so is my madam (Swaraj). Everything has been done by her.) "

Ansari reached Delhi early morning on Wednesday, 19 December. He told reporters upon reaching that he is really happy to get back home.

Updated at:19th Dec, 2018 at 9:24 PM

'Experience in Prison Was Both Good and Bad': Hamid Ansari

Speaking to CNN-News18 after his return to India from Pakistan, Hamid Ansari said his experience in the prison was both good and bad.

“The experience (in prison) was good and bad, I would say. Because six years was a long duration. And in this long duration, even if you live with an enemy, and you keep looking at him, at a time you start developing sympathy for the person… So at times there were people who treated me good, and at times there were people who treated me bad [sic]. ”

Hamid Ansari to CNN-News18

Ansari further told the news channel how happy he was when he heard the news of his release.“The ground was not in my feet. I was flying, I was in the air [sic],” he said.

Asked about his plan for the future, Ansari said it will be decided by his parents. “Whatever planning I did in the past, it destroyed everything,” he remarked.

Updated at:20th Dec, 2018 at 10:34 AM

Hamid Ansari Arrives in Mumbai

Hamid Ansari arrived at the Mumbai airport on Thursday, 20 December, after meeting External Affairs Sushma Swaraj upon being released by Pakistan.

“After six years, when I saw them (his family) I was still in Pakistan. They were crying and spreading their arms while Pakistani authorities were completing paperwork with me and I kept asking them to speed up. I just ran towards them (family) and fell on my knees, 'Ammi mujhe maaf kar de'. I was asking for forgiveness from everyone," he told India Today in an interview.

The Mumbai resident, who returned to India after crossing the Wagah-Attari border, was imprisoned in the Peshawar Central Jail after being sentenced by a military court on 15 December 2015.

Updated at:20th Dec, 2018 at 12:06 PM

Hamid Ansari Arrives at His Home in Mumbai

Repatriated Indian national Hamid Ansari arrived at his residence in Mumbai on Thursday, 20 December, six years after he was arrested in Pakistan.

Updated at:20th Dec, 2018 at 12:04 PM