Hamid Ansari reaches hometown: 'Have to find a job, then a suitable match'
Mumbai, Dec 20 : Software engineer Hamid Nihal Ansari, who had to spend six years in a Pakistani jail on espionage charges, returned to his hometown Mumbai on Thursday, refusing to "scratch old wounds" and vowing to move on with live.
Upon his arrival at the Mumbai airport to a cheering welcome by friends and relatives, Ansari said he would try to get a job and then find a suitable match for himself.
"I don't want to recollect what happened with me in the past. I want to look at the future," he said. "I have to find a job and after that I also have to find a woman to get married."
Ansari was arrested in Pakistan in 2012 for allegedly entering that country from Afghanistan reportedly to meet a woman he had befriended online. Pakistan slapped espionage charges against him. He was repatriated to India on Tuesday.
Two days after he was handed over to India at the Wagah-Attari border, Ansari, 33, and his parents left New Delhi in the morning in an Air India flight and arrived at the airport here around 9.30 am, his father Nihal Ansari said.
Relatives, friends and well-wishers greeted and cheered for him as he came out of the airport. The family then left for their residence in suburban Versova.
Before leaving for home, Ansari told mediapersons at the airport he did make "mistakes" in the past. "I had my own mistakes but now I want to move towards the future. I don't want to go into those things now, I had my own sins and mistakes."
Ansari said while waiting to cross the border at Amritsar after his release from the Pakistan jail on Tuesday, he caught a glimpse of his parents, who were waiting for him on the Indian side, first time in six years.
"I was not able to meet them (immediately) as I was on the Pakistan side. At that time, I realised how much they must have suffered for me. I wanted to meet them immediately, but could not," Ansari said.
Asked about an eye injury he apparently suffered during interrogation at the Pakistani prison, Ansari said the interrogation process cannot be avoided.
"During the interrogation, the retina of my eye got ruptured. But, they admitted me to a government hospital and it was treated...they compensated for it ( treatment)," he said.
On an alleged attack on him inside the Peshawar prison, he said it was due to a "misunderstanding" which escalated.
Asked about his future plans, the software engineer said first there will be a celebration with the family. "(then) I have to find a job and after that I also have to find a woman to get married...pehle naukri phir chokri."
The Mumbai resident, who returned to India on Tuesday after crossing the Wagah-Attari border, was imprisoned in the Peshawar Central Jail after being sentenced by a military court on December 15, 2015.
According to official sources, India issued 96 notes verbales to Pakistan seeking consular access to Ansari. The decision to release him was taken due to relentless pressure from New Delhi, they said.
Shortly before his arrival on Tuesday, his mother Fauzia Ansari had told reporters that the prayers of the family and of all those who wished for his safe return were answered. His father had said it was a new dawn for them.
Ansari and his family have thanked External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her ministry for persisting with the case and taking it up with Islamabad.
His jail term ended on December 15 but he was not able to leave for India as his legal documents were not ready. On Thursday, the Peshawar High Court gave the Pakistan government a month's time to complete his repatriation process.
Ansari had an emotional interaction with Swaraj on Wednesday as he narrated the difficult phase he had to endure through in Pakistan.
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Muslim woman doctor decides not to join Bihar govt job after Nitish Kumar hijab incident
Patna: AYUSH doctor Nusrat Parveen has decided not to join Bihar government service after a controversial incident involving Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, despite recently receiving her appointment letter.
Parveen was among several hijab-wearing women attending a government Samvad programme in Patna when a video surfaced showing the Chief Minister allegedly pulling down her hijab in public. The incident sparked widespread criticism and political outrage across the country.
Although Parveen is scheduled to join service on December 20, she has chosen to stay away from the job due to the distress caused by the episode. Her family members are reportedly trying to convince her to reconsider the decision.
According to The Wire, Parveen’s brother, who teaches at a government law university in Kolkata, as saying that the family is of the opinion that she should not be held back for the fault of someone else, though they are well aware of her distress over the incident. Her husband works as a clinical psychologist at a college.
ALSO READ: Bihar CM removes hijab from newly appointed doctor's face at govt event, stokes controversy
The incident gained national attention after the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) shared a video clip of the Chief Minister’s interaction with Parveen on its official X account. As per the report, the video quickly went viral, drawing strong reactions from social media users, especially women, who described the act as inappropriate and humiliating.
The RJD criticised Nitish Kumar’s conduct and questioned his mental fitness in a strongly worded post. The Congress also entered the debate by condemning the Chief Minister’s behaviour and demanding his resignation, while linking the episode to concerns over women’s safety in Bihar and arguing that such conduct from the state’s highest constitutional authority sent a disturbing message to society at large.
Despite the growing outrage and sustained political pressure, there has been no official clarification or response from Nitish Kumar, his party, or the Bihar government more than a day after the video went viral.
