Missing Indian national who 'fell in love' with Pakistani girl traced to jail

Mumbai: Indian national Nehal Hamid Ansari, who was reported to be missing since 2012, has been found to be in Pakistan Army's custody.

Hamid's mother Fauzia Ansari today confirmed about her son's arrest in Pakistan.

Fauzia, a teacher based in Mumbai, thanked the Government of India for their efforts to help her son.

"Indian government has been very supportive, they showed us many letters which they sent to Pakistan high commission," she said.

While narrating the story of her son to news agency ANI, she said, “Nehal had gone to Kabul looking for a job. After a long struggle, when we came to know that he is safe there under the watch of government. We are at least satisfied that he is fine. He is very talented but he never got desired job. He didn't have job satisfaction.”

In 2012 Nehal went to Afghanistan for a job at Kabul airport. She said for the first ten days he was in touch with us, but after that there was no contact.

He had reportedly entered Pakistan illegally through the Afghanistan border as he was in love with a girl from Kohat district whom he had befriended on social media networks.

Since the girl's parents were planning to get her married soon, Ansari took the risk of entering Pakistan illegally to meet her but soon went missing.

To enquire about their 28-year-old son, the parents contacted Indian embassy in Afghanistan and found out that he was trying to help a tribal girl who was being ill-treated in Pakistan.

The parents had filed a petition in Peshawar High Court. The PIL said that Nehal got in touch with the girl through Facebook. Fauzia further says that some of her son's Pakistani friends had advised him to enter the country without visa.

According to reports, a divisional bench of the Peshawar High Court disposed off the case of Hamid Ansari after the government confirmed that he was currently in army custody and facing a trial in military courts.