He was arrested 16 years ago in Varanasi and after serving his due sentence, is going back to his home country. This Pakistani national waited for more than a decade to go back to his country. The only thing he took from India was; Bhagavad Gita.
Jalaluddin, who was arrested from Varanasi’s cantonment area can now take a sigh of relief. “In 2001, Jalaluddin was arrested from the cantonment area. He was nabbed near the Air Force office, by the police with suspicious documents,” said Ambrish Gaud, Senior Superintendent of the Varanasi Central Jail.
Back then the police had recovered maps of the cantonment area and other important places from him, a court had then sentenced him to 16 years of imprisonment. Gaud elucidated, “He was imprisoned under the Official Secrets Act and Foreigner’s Act. He has now been handed over to the local police. He has taken a copy of (Bhagavad) Gita with him.”
Hailing from Sindh province, when Jalaluddin was arrested he was just a high school graduate, but he is now an MA from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). Mr. Gaud added, “When he was arrested, he had only graduated from high school. He completed his intermediate and did his MA from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). In jail he undertook an electrician course as well. He had been an umpire in the jail cricket league for the last three years.
Jalaluddin must be going through a range of emotions right now, living in an alien country for 16 yrs as a convict and now back to the country he calls home. From the looks of it, those years turned out to be the most beautiful years of his life. Looking at his journey, it looks like he was once a regular guy, who took to nefarious activities due to the religious brainwashing that Pakistan is well known for. It is no secret that they use their scriptures to brainwash innocent people and the lack of conventional job opportunities adds fuel to the fire.
What is noteworthy about this story is that the ex-jihadi; Jalal found solace in Bhagavad Gita as he chose to carry it home with him. It is only because of the positive influence that Bhagavad Gita had on him, he rose above the kafir hatred and focused his energy on educating himself, something he couldn’t dream of in Pakistan.
It looks like Jalal can now differentiate between right and wrong and his decision to carry Bhagavad Gita to Pakistan reinforces that very fact. A special team has taken Jalaluddin to Amritsar, where he will be handed over to the concerned authorities at the Wagah-Attari border, following which he will return to Pakistan.