The Hindu : Pakistani youth finds his voice, family

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Sep 20, 2003

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Pakistani youth finds his voice, family

By Our Staff Reporter

Ramgarh (J&K) Sept. 19. Amir Ali's speech returned on Friday when he heard over the telephone the voices of his family members in Multan, south-western Pakistan. Ali, a 23-year-old Pakistani, inadvertently strayed into Indian territory in December 2001; some months later he lost his speech. Doctors attending on him said the youth was suffering from a severe psychosomatic disorder which would be cured when he was reunited with his family.

Ali, a third year electrical engineering student at the Lahore University, had gone to visit his maternal uncle in Qadirabad village of Sialkot district when he lost his way in heavy fog and entered Indian territory via the Ramgarh sector in December 2001. He was subsequently nabbed by the Border Security Force and handed over to the police. His family had no inkling that their son was in an Indian jail until they got a letter from him. Officially, Ali's one-year detention expired on August 5, 2002, but he continued to languish in jail. The youth's parents, frantically searching for his whereabouts, finally succeeded in establishing contact with the J&K unit of the People's Union for Civil Liberties which they put out an alert. Acting on this information, The Hindu began a search and finally located Ali at the Ramgarh police station, one km from the India-Pakistan International Border. The SHO, Jagdeep Bhadwal, said, "legally the boy is not under arrest and cannot be kept in jail. But the deportation procedures are long and a common man like Amir suffers."

Today, on hearing his mother's voice, Ali broke down and was inconsolable. After a while, he found his voice and stammered over the phone, "Ammi mai theek hu, aap kese ho (Mother I am alright, how are you?)" For over 10 minutes, the youth talked with almost every member of his family.

The youth's father, Mohammad Ali, said, "our family cannot forget the efforts of The Hindu in tracing our son. Many thanks for your contribution as a family member, your services are a sign that humanism is still surviving in the world." When contacted, the People's Democratic Party president, Mehbooba Mufti, said that she would take up the matter personally with the authorities concerned and get the deportation process expedited so that Ali could be united with his family. For the time being, Amir's family waits in hope.

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