“Mera Bharat mahaan, meri madam mahaan, sab madam ne hi kiya hai“, (My India is great, my madam is great and madam has done everything) said Fauzia mother of Hamid Ansari who was recently released from Pakistan jail.
The 33-year-old Hamid Ansari was caught by the Pakistan authorities in 2012 for possession of a fake Pakistani identity card, he was then sentenced to three years in prison. He entered Pakistan on November 12, 2012, to meet a woman who had befriended on social media. His Facebook friend had then sent him a fake Pakistani national identity card using which he first went to Karak in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and stayed there for two days. He was later arrested from Kohat.
The Mumbai based resident crossed Punjab’s Attari-Wagah border yesterday after spending six years in Peshawar’s central jail. With the efforts of the Ministry of External Affairs, Hamid has been brought back to India. In a video released by ANI the external affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was seen hugging Fauzia and comforting her.
The term of Hamid Ansari ended on December 15 and he was repatriated after the Peshawar high court gave the Pakistani government a month’s deadline to complete the process. Ansari’s mother Fauzia, father Nehal and brother were at the Attari-Wagah border to receive him. A Border Security Force (BSF) official who was present at the spot said Ansari was examined by his mother. He said, “She embraced him and then examined him thoroughly to see whether he has any torture marks.”
His father on receiving his son said, “For us, it is like Hamid has taken a new birth. We did not celebrate any festival since my son went missing, but this is the day of celebration.”
He further added that his son had not gone to Pakistan with any ulterior intention and was there for a noble cause and this is why their prayers have been addressed by God. Ansari’s mother said, “Parents should also keep a watch on social media their children use.’’
This is not the first case that Foreign External Affairs Ministry led by Sushma Swaraj has rescued Indian citizens abroad. Sushma Swaraj had previously granted medical visas on humanitarian grounds to Pakistanis wishing to come to India for treatment of serious medical problems.
On January 18, a Twitter user Garima tweeted to Minister Mrs. Sushma Swaraj asking for help for the grant of an urgent visa under “medical emergency” because her husband based in Dubai had suffered a brain stroke and was in a critical condition and within a day Garima was granted a visa.
Read more: https://tfipost.com/2018/01/sushma-swaraj-helps-indian-dubai-01/
Such an exemplary use of Social Media was not thought of by anyone till a few years ago. It is an example which, leaders of not just India’s neighboring countries but those of other countries must try to emulate, for it is the surest way to connect with the people directly using modern technology to resolve their issues.