Back home, but the hugs will have to wait for now

The hugs will have to wait. The four Pakistani boys released by India today were taken away for a debriefing by the Pakistan Rangers even before they could meet their relatives.

The hugs will have to wait. The four Pakistani boys released by India today were taken away for a debriefing by the Pakistan Rangers even before they could meet their relatives.

The boys, who had accidentally strayed into India and spent nearly a year in detention, had tears in their eyes as they looked back and thanked all those who had helped them in the repatriation. ‘‘Hamein India mein bahut pyar mila hai… apne Pakistan se bhi zyada. Hamein apne bachon ki tarah rakha. Hum kabhi nahin bhulenge…,’’ said one of them, echoing the sentiments of the other three just before crossing the zero-line.

The father and fufi (aunt) of Khurram, one of the boys, later spoke to this reporter on phone from across the border to say they could only have a glimpse of the boys before they were escorted away by the Rangers.

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As the foursome woke up to a grand day this morning in the Juvenile Home in Faridkot, they were clearly overwhelmed by the hospitality bestowed on them over the last few months. Clad in new clothes, they said : ‘‘Hamein yaad zarur rakhna… aur khat likhna… phone bhi karna,’’ as they hugged other inmates of the jail.

Faridkot DC Rakhee Bhandari gave them sweets and garlanded them before their departure. During their four-hour journey to Wagah, they exchanged jokes and thanked the Almighty.

‘‘Will our family be there,’’ they asked on the way. Just then, the mobile phone rang and Kurram’s father and fufi told The Indian Express that they were on their way and would be in Wagah in just a few minutes…’’

Just before crossing over, much to the delight of the media and others at the Wagah border, the youngest of the four, Mithun Masih, sang a few lines of the popular Punjabi number ‘‘Mittran di chhatri te udgayi …’’.

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Along with Khurram, Mithun, Imran and Shaukat, two other Pak prisoners Mohammad Ayub and Rauf Khan, lodged in the J&K sector for crossing over into Indian territory, were also released today.

The two had been jailed for 15 long years and looked forward to a fresh start to their lives.

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