Hamid Ansari’s household in Versova was full of tears and celebrations as he returned home after six long years. Ansari returned after being in prison for six years on charges of entering Pakistan illegally from Afghanistan.

What Ansari had to say

“I was worried and unsure if I would ever be able to return home from Pakistan, but eventually when I saw people supporting me, I started to pray. My family, the Indian government and Sushma Swaraj helped me a lot,” said Ansari.

He further said that he would approach Aamir Khan to make a movie on him. After he celebrates with his family, he will look for a job and then get married and settled.

But his biggest advice was never to fall in love on Facebook.

Saying that one can never expect decent treatment in prison, he said that he was tortured and his retina was torn during interrogation, reported Hindustan Times.

Ansari’s family was ready to serve biryani after all these years. During these years, they had shunned every function.

Hamid’s elder brother, Khalid Ansari, said that everything in the house had remained in the same place for these six years.

The family was so overwhelmed that they could hardly believe Ansari was back. They would often touch him to make sure he was real.

Background

In 2012, Ansari was put behind bars for trying to illegally enter Pakistan from Afghanistan to meet the woman he fell in love with online. After being held incommunicado for as many as three years, in December 2015 a military court gave him a jail term of three years for espionage and possessing fake documents, reported Hindustan Times.  

Following the completion of his prison term, he was sent back to his own country via the Wagah-Attari border crossing. Ansari and his mother then met external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj.

People who are familiar with the case have to say that he never met the woman who he had befriended, although she had testified on behalf of him in court. After Ansari was denied a Pakistani visa, both of them had decided to go to Afghanistan and then sneak to Pakistan.

Ansari was welcomed home by friends and family but amid all the celebrations, he had three advises to give: never love anyone on Facebook, never hide anything from your parents and make sure you follow proper legal procedures while travelling to other countries.

Also Read: After Six Years Of Imprisonment In Pakistan, Hamid Ansari Returns To India