Amritsar, April 24: A 24-year-old Sikh pilgrim, who was part of a Baisakh jatha and had gone missing in Pakistan, was found at his “Facebook friend’s” house in Sheikhupura, about 50 kms from Lahore on Monday.
Amarjit Singh, a resident of Baba Bakala in Amritsar, had gone to Pakistan along with other 1,700 Sikh pilgrims on April 12. But his disappearance was only noticed when the entourage came back to Amritsar on April 21.
A Geo TV report said that Amarijit would be handed over to the Indian authorities at the Attari-Wagah border on Tuesday.
Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) spokesperson Amir Hashmi said: “Amarjit has been found and will be sent back to India on Tuesday. He had arrived at Nankana Sahib and had left the group to meet his Facebook friend – Amir Razzak – in Sheikhupura. “ Razzak’s family had contacted the board and told us about his (Amarjit’s) stay at his residence. Today, both Amarjit and Razzak visited the ETPB office in Lahore.”
“Amarjit said he (Singh) had not gone missing. He thought that he had a one month visa and he would return to India after spending a couple of week with his friend here,” added Hashmi.
A source told PTI that Pakistani intelligence agencies have quizzed Singh for ‘several hours’ over his ‘missing’. “After it was established that he had not deliberately disappeared and had no links with the Indian intelligence agency, Amarjit was handed over to the ETPB to be deported to India,” he said.
BSF DIG (Punjab border) JS Obrai, however, said he had no information on Amarjit being handed over to the Indian authorities.
Amarrjit’s disappearance came close to the heels of another visiting Indian pilgrim Kiran Bala, who married a Pakistani man Mohammad Azam, a resident of Lahore, and applied for Pakistani citizenship. She had arrived Lahore on April 12 to attend the Baisakhi festival. She has applied for Pakistan citizenship and extension to her visa.
Source: www.hindustantimes.com
