India releases 28 Pak, Bangla prisoners ahead of Eid

August 02, 2013 - Ahead of the Muslims’ Id-al-Fitr festival, India repatriated 28 prisoners, including 22 Pakistani and six Bangladeshi nationals, on Tuesday. The Pakistani nationals, brought to Amritsar from different jails, were handed over to Pakistan Rangers at Attari border while the Bangladeshis were released from Amritsar central jail and were transferred to Tarn Taran police, which would make arrangements to send them to their homeland. Wearing a white "kurta-pajama" and a skull cap, Saddiq Umar, in his 60s, appeared confused, despite becoming free and heading to his country Pakistan after nearly 20 years. "I was a fisherman and don't know how I was implicated in a narcotics case. But now, freedom is like a gift from the Indian government, though after 20 years," he told Times of India, before leaving for Pakistan. A resident of Thatta district, Umar said his family was waiting for him desperately and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with them. (Source: TOI)