Saudi FM calls Indian, Pakistani counterparts to discuss developments    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Arabia cracks down on fraudulent Hajj campaigns, urges pilgrims to use official channels    Nammos Amala Resort to open soon with Saudi-Greek designs    Saudi Arabia completes 674 Vision 2030 initiatives, achieves 93% of KPIs as ninth-year milestone marked    Literature Commission inaugurates Saudi Pavilion at Muscat Book Fair    Saudi Minister of Culture holds talks with his Costa Rican counterpart in Jeddah    Alkhorayef praises advancements in Al-Kharj food industries sector    MHRSD: 80% of recruitment offices are non-compliant with regulations    At least 50 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza    Teenage girl killed in French school stabbing attack    Trump claims meeting with China after Beijing denies any trade negotiations    GACA chief chairs 16th meeting of the Steering Committee on aviation's strategy    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Jennifer Lopez dazzles in Jeddah with a Formula 1 performance    Saudi Arabia open to expanded 64-team World Cup in 2034, says sports minister    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Film Commission launches 'Cinema' initiative to enhance content    Famed Philippine film star Nora Aunor dies at 71    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



‘I can't believe you are alive'
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 02 - 08 - 2012

DHAKA — For 23 years, his family in Bangladesh thought he was dead. But then an anonymous caller informed a local official in May that he was alive and in jail in Pakistan.
On Tuesday, 52-year-old Moslemuddin Sarkar, who had been missing since 1989, returned home.
Pakistani officials freed him from the jail in Karachi on Monday night and immediately deported him.
Sarkar, bearded and sharp-eyed but ravaged by fatigue, walked out of the concourse in Dhaka's airport and was hugged tightly by his brother, Sekandar Ali.
“I can't believe you are alive; you are back!” Ali said.
Sarkar remained silent, tears rolling down his cheeks.
“Brother, let's go home,” Ali said. “Mother is waiting for you.”
Sarkar had left home one morning in 1989 after a brief visit, telling his family he was returning to his job as a dock worker at Bangladesh's main Chittagong Seaport. His family didn't hear from him again until the International Committee of the Red Cross found him in the Karachi jail after the anonymous call.
After Sarkar's disappearance, Ali visited the shipyard to search for him, but was told he hadn't returned to work. “We waited for months, years, and finally thought he was no more,” Ali said. “Otherwise, why wouldn't he inform us where he was?”
Even after his return Tuesday, Sarkar was reluctant to explain what had happened to him and why he ended up in a jail in Pakistan.
“I crossed the border to India in 1989 and went to Delhi after staying a few months in the Indian states of Assam and Meghalaya. Later, I got married in Delhi,” he said. “But I got caught along the India-Pakistan border when I tried to enter Pakistan in 1997,” he said. “I had no travel documents.”
“I served 15 years in jail,” he said, without giving any further explanation. “Let me meet my mother first,” he said. “I will tell you everything later.”
Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations and often arrest and imprison each other's citizens for lengthy periods for entering their territories. Both sides have freed scores of such prisoners, but hundreds are still believed held in jails.
After Sarkar's family learned from the anonymous caller that he was alive and in Pakistan, they were at a loss on what to do.
They repeatedly called the phone number from which the anonymous call had come, but were told that it was not in use. Then they learned that the Red Cross helps trace missing people and seek their repatriation.
They contacted the ICRC's Dhaka office, which informed its delegation in Pakistan. Within days it found that Sarkar was languishing in the Karachi jail.
Meanwhile, in Sarkar's home village of Bishnurampur in northern Bangladesh, everyone was ready to welcome him home.
“The whole village is waiting for him. Everybody is concerned to know when he is coming, how it happened,” Habibur Rahman, a resident of the village, said by phone.
“This is going to be a great reunion,” he said. — AP


Clic here to read the story from its source.