The woman and her son served just over a year in prison. (Image)
Lahore:
Pakistani officials said on Thursday that an Indian woman, a trafficking victim, and her minor son have been handed over to Indian troops at the Wagah border after serving just over a year in prison for illegally entering Pakistan last year.
Wahida Begum and her minor son Faiz Khan were released from a prison in Quetta, Balochistan, after serving just over a year of their sentence and handed over to the Border Security Forces at Wagah border post on Wednesday.
According to federal officials, Wahida, a resident of Assam’s Nagaon district, was arrested along with her son last year when they illegally crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan via the Chaman border.
Wahida told local authorities she had been tricked by an Indian travel agency into reaching Pakistan.
“After the death of my husband in 2022, I decided to take my son to Canada. For this purpose, I sold properties and paid a huge amount of money to an Indian agent,” she said in her statement to Pakistani police.
She said the agent travelled with them to Dubai last year and from there they travelled to Afghanistan.
He promised to get the mother and son out of Afghanistan to Canada.
“But in Afghanistan he managed to take all my possessions and my passport and escape,” she said.
Wahida further stated that to reach India, she and her son entered Pakistan via Chaman border where they were arrested by Pakistani authorities (under the Foreigners Act).
“I was subsequently granted consular access and the process to verify my citizenship took several months,” she said, adding that her Pakistani lawyer had informed her mother in India about her ordeal.
Wahida’s family subsequently contacted the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi and the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, seeking assistance to ensure her safe return home.
Officials from the Indian High Commission reportedly took her case to the Ministry of Interior in Islamabad.
Wahida and her son were released on Wednesday. Besides them, Indian nationals Shabir Ahmed and Suraj Pal were also handed over to the BSF.
Ahmed was released from Karachi’s Malir Jail after serving his sentence, while Pal was released from Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
