Wagah border customs staff humiliated me, says Gujral

‘‘When I reached the custom section, I found none of the passengers standing in the queue. I and my friend columnist Kuldip Nayar, who also crossed with me to India, requested the customs officials to attend to us but they did not bother.’’

‘‘After 25 minutes when a custom official came to his seat, he asked me to come to the window to fill the immigration form once again in his presence. I felt severely humiliated,” the former prime minister said.

‘‘If this is the welcome accorded to the former prime minister by the customs officials, one can imagine the plight of common man at their hands,” Gujral said.

Meanwhile, on his return to Amritsar from Pakistan, Gujral today said he favoured the home coming of deposed Pakistani premier Nawaz Sharif and credited him with playing an important role in initiating peace ties with India. “Sharif is the key figure who had initiated peaceful ties with India,’’ Gujral said.