Home at last, Kashmir speaks for Pak PoWs

New Delhi: Freed Indian national Kashmir Singh - who had spent 35 years on death row in Pakistani jails after being convicted of espionage – on Tuesday crossed over from Wagah border into Indian soil.

Kashmir will be questioned by Indian intelligence agencies now.

A large media contingent gathered on the Pakistani side of the Wagah border to beam Kashmir’s departure live on Pakistan channels.

An even larger crowd, including his wife Paramjit Kaur, relatives and friends, assembled on the Indian side to greet him. He also said Indian authorities treat Pakistani PoWs lodged in Indian jails well.

On Monday night, an emotional Singh - who spent the night at a five-star hotel in Lahore after stepping out of Kot Lakhpath jail - denied any wrongdoing and said it was "hope" which kept him alive during incarceration.

"Yes, I was accused of espionage and smuggling. But I did not do anything of that sort and they found nothing on me when they arrested me," the 60-year-old was quoted as saying by agencies.

Cameras jostled for space, waiting for a glimpse of the man who was on death row for 35 years.

Moments later, speaking with CNN-IBN, he thanked Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf for granting him pardon, and a new lease of life.

"I have got a new life," he said, adding, "When I left India, one of my children was one year old. The other was a three-year-old and the third was six years old. If I see them now I would not be able to recognise them. I have not been in touch with my family. I only saw them on television through Mr Ansar Burney."

It was an emotional moment for Sheesh Pal, Kashmir's son who was a year old at the time of his father's imprisonment.

"It's been a tough childhood without him. Now we hope he has overcome his trauma," he said.

Kashmir Singh was pardoned last week by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and had said he was looking forward to be reunited with his family.

"I am seeing the lights, the hustle and bustle. I feel like I'm in some other world. I am laughing. I don't remember the last time I laughed like this," he told newsmen.

Singh was released after his case was taken up by caretaker Human Rights Minister Ansar Burney.

"This is a great honour for Pakistan, that the President, after 35 years has released this man, and now he is returning to his home,” Burney said, adding, “ I hope he spends the rest of his life happily.”

Singh was convicted of spying and sentenced to death by a military court in Lahore, but Burney said the government stayed his execution in the late 1970s.

Singh's release from jail was beamed live on all Pakistani news channels.

’Happy and grateful’

Singh, clad in a new bush shirt and trousers, said he was grateful to the Pakistani people and President Pervez Musharraf, whose intervention led to his release.

He said he was very happy to be free and would tell people in India how Pakistanis had "treated him well" while he was in prison. Singh said he would also urge Indians to treat Pakistanis in Indian jails well.

Singh, a former policeman, was arrested in Rawalpindi in 1973. The Ansar Burney Trust, one of Pakistan's most prominent rights organisations, has announced a grant of one million rupees for Singh's rehabilitation.

Burney and his wife had earlier planned to accompany Singh to his village near Hoshiarpur in Indian Punjab, but the minister said he had decided not to make the trip as he did not want to come in the way of the reunion between Singh and his loved ones.