Ahmedabad: An Indian man was reunited with his family 28 years after being detained by Pakistani authorities in 1994 and receiving a life sentence for spying.
After serving out his sentence in 2021, Kuldeep Yadav (59) was released this week by the Pakistan Supreme Court.
He has asked the Indian government and other citizens for financial support.
Kuldeep was looking for employment in 1991 after earning his degree from Sabarmati Arts and Commerce College in Ahmedabad and completing an LLB programme when several individuals approached him with an offer to "work for the country."
"In 1992, I was sent to Pakistan, after serving for two years on foreign soil, I planned to return in June 1994, but before making it to my motherland, I was picked up by Pakistani agencies and produced before a court. For two long years, I was interrogated by various agencies," he told IANS.
Narrating his plight, Kuldeep said in 1996, the Pakistan court awarded him life imprisonment on the charges of spying and sent him to Kot-Lakhpat Civil Central jail in Lahore. "There I got a chance to meet late Sarbjeet, the jail authorities used to arrange meetings between us every fortnight. Till Sarabjeet's death, Pakistani and Indian jail inmates shared the same barracks."
He was received by the Indian officials and his brother on the Indian side last week. "After serving the country for 30 years, I am 'Zero Batta Zero' today, dependent on younger brother Dilip and sister Rekha. The government should pay compensation like retired soldiers. I too should be given agricultural land, a pension, and land for a house, so that I can rebuild my life. At the age of 59, no one is going to hire me. I appeal to citizens to come forward and extend support socially and economically."
With inputs from IANS