“India is heaven”, 65-yr-old woman shares ordeal on home-return after 18 yrs in Pakistan prison

 

After almost two decades, when Hasina Begum on returning to her homeland saw the familiar faces, her happiness knew no bound. 65 yr old Hasina now knows the true significance of holding an Indian passport on another land. It was in 2002 that Hasina Begum went to meet her relative in Lahore and unfortunately, lost her passport. Since then, she was imprisoned in a Pakistani jail and after spending 18 years in the dark, Hasina when finally returned home she expressed her relief saying, “now I am in heaven”.

 

On the occasion of Republic Day on Tuesday, Hasina was able to return to her country amongst her people in India. Pakistan Government kept Hasina Begum imprisoned for 18 yrs since she lost her passport while she had gone there to meet her relative. Her return to the country became also possible due to the tireless efforts of the Aurangabad Police.

 

 

 

Hasina Begum traveled to Pakistan in 2002 to meet her husband's relative Zainuddin Chishti where her passport was lost. According to police information, Hasina Begum was married to Dilshad Ahmed, a resident of Saharanpur, UP and her house is in the City Chowk Police Station area of Aurangabad.

 

 

 

While sharing her ordeal, Hasina Begum recalled how miserable her condition was as she suffered in Pakistan jail and wished nothing but home-return. She spent a difficult period and was forcibly kept in jail since she could not show her Indian passport. When she pleaded before a judge in a Pakistani court that she was innocent and had come to Pakistan legally, the court then sought information from the Aurangabad police about her given address. When the Aurangabad police confirmed her address, the Pakistani court gave a decision to hand over Hasina Begum to the Indian authorities.