GUWAHATI: Wahida Begum, an Assam native, and her 11-year-old son are scheduled to return to India on May 29 after being detained in Pakistan for a year and a half.
The handover will occur at the Wagah-Attari border between India and Pakistan.
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Hailing from Nagaon in Assam, Wahida Begum and her son have been incarcerated in Quetta Jail since November 2022.
The circumstances surrounding their arrival in Quetta, near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, without valid passports and visas, remain mysterious.
Their detention was initially reported through a phone call to Wahida’s family in Assam, followed by a legal notice from a Pakistani court citing their lack of proper travel documents.
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Their release has been facilitated by Pakistan’s ministry of interior, largely due to the advocacy efforts of Santosh Kumar Suman.
Wahida’s family initially sought help from the Delhi high court, but jurisdictional challenges led them to the Gauhati high court.
Ultimately, the Supreme Court of India recommended that the family contact the ministry of home affairs and the ministry of external affairs, leading to diplomatic negotiations that secured their release.
On the same day, three other Indian prisoners will also be repatriated at the Wagah-Attari border.
These prisoners include Suraj Pal and Ramesh, who were detained in Lahore Jail, and Shabir Ahmed Dars, who was held in Malir Jail, Karachi.