14 yrs in Rajasthan jail, a Pakistani waits for a passage home

And while 13 of his prison mates walked out of the prison gates, Babar, their leader, was left behind.

‘‘Pakistan refused to take back Babar. They are yet to verify his credentials,’’ says Dinesh Kumar, Alwar District Collector, who has made several attempts for Babar’s repatriation.

Lahore resident Babar’s misery began in December 1990, when he crossed over to India in search of cheap second-hand spare parts for trucks. ‘‘It was my first journey. But my guide was a veteran,’’ says Babar.

At Nachna, near Jaisalmer, where the duo was hunting for the spares, an argument with a shopkeeper led to police intervention and his arrest. ‘‘My friend disappeared on sensing trouble. But I was stupid enough to tell them that I was from across the border,’’ says Babar, adding that he was due to get married the month he crossed over.

Local police slapped cases of spying and intruding illegally on Indian territory, and Babar was sentenced to 10 years in jail. He was released on Jan 18, 2001, but with Pakistan refusing to acknowledge his existence, Babar was back in jail, under ‘‘protective custody’’.

Later, he was sent to the transit camp in Alwar. There, in the company of 15 others who had served out their sentences in India, the prisoners began their struggle for repatriation. ‘‘We demanded our return to Pakistan. But the Indian Government told us that our verification had not been done by the Pakistan Consulate and we’d have to wait,’’ says Babar.

Soon, the prisoners began a series of hunger strikes, led by Babar. The first, in 2003, lasted seven days. This resulted in a meeting of two of their delegates with Pakistani officials in New Delhi.

In July 2004, Babar and four others went on partial hunger strike again. This lasted more than a month till they were rushed to a hospital in Jaipur. ‘‘We called off the strike after the administration assured us of full support and renewed efforts for our release,’’ says Babar.

The big news came a few months later, when jail authorities informed inmates that both the Indian and Pakistani governments had agreed to their repatriation. But Babar would have to wait, the authorities said.

Today, Babar has almost given up. ‘‘It has been a long time. My family was to have shifted to a new house ahead of my marriage, days after my arrest. Now I do not have the contact address,’’ he says.

According to Collector Dinesh Kumar, Babar has also been shifted to four different jails since then.

The address Babar has with him is of the house where he grew up with his mother and seven siblings: Katri No-3, Sant Nagar, near Ghora Hospital, Lahore. His father Mohammed Mian, Babar says, had died several years ago.

‘‘I went to the Government Islamia High School on the Multan Road and stayed at Darul Shafqat, Anjuman Himayat-e-Islam,’’ he says, adding, ‘‘‘Please write the name of my school. Maybe, someone will recognise me.’’

Now all his hopes of returning home rests on a ‘‘general amnesty’’.

‘‘But for now, I have left everything in God’s hands,’’ says Babar.