Never fall in love on Facebook: Lessons Hamid Nihal Ansari learnt during 6 years in Pakistan jail

Indian national Hamid Nihal Ansari, who returned to India on Wednesday after being jailed in Pakistan for six years, has a message for youngsters – never fall in love with anyone on social media platforms like Facebook.

The tale of Hamid Nihal Ansari is certainly a lesson for several youngsters, who have experienced a new wave of freedom with the world of internet and social media. Speaking to Zee News at his Mumbai residence on Thursday morning, a day after his return from Pakistan, Ansari talked about the three big lessons that he learnt from his experience.

While his first lesson for him was refraining from any love-like relationship on social media, the other two significant lessons that he learnt were – never lie to parents and never resort to illegal means to go to any place.

“Never hide anything from your parents. Only your parents stand by your side in testing times. And never resort to any illegal mean to go to any place,” Ansari told Zee News.

Ansari had fallen in love with a girl from Pakistan. To prevent forced marriage of his love interest, Ansari decided to visit the neighbouring country and went to Pakistan illegally in 2012 through the Afghanistan route.

Following this, he was detained by Pakistani authorities. In 2015, he was found guilty by a court in Pakistan and sent to jail for three years. After repeated attempts by human rights activists from both India and Pakistan, and intervention of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, he managed to return to India. Authorities in Pakistan had slapped charges of espionage against the 33-year-old software engineer.

Soon after his return to India, Ansari met Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday. He broke down during the meeting with the minister as he narrated his ordeal.

According to official sources, India had issued 96 notes verbales to Pakistan seeking consular access to Ansari. The decision to release him was on account of relentless pressure from New Delhi.