City engineer may be freed in months

Mumbai: Versova engineer Hamid Ansari, who has been imprisoned in Pakistan for four years, is a step closer to freedom. The Peshawar high court has directed the Pakistani government to furnish his expected date of release. Hamid's prison term of three years will be offset against his detention, which means he may return home within months.
Last week, the judges also directed the Peshawar central prison, where Hamid is incarcerated, to provide proper medical treatment and the diet prescribed by doctors.
In January, Ansari was awarded a three-year prison term by a military court but has already served three-and-a half years in jail. His lawyer had pleaded that the period of his detention be included in his prison term. The Pakistani government informed the court that it was willing to do so.
Former MLA Krishna Hegde, who had helped secure the release of Vile Parle resident Bhavesh Parmar from prison in Pakistan, is lobbying with Union external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and BJP MP Kirit Somaiya for Ansari. He said, "This order brings a ray of hope because the Pakistani government has agreed that his detention will be offset by his jail term. This is the right time for the Government of India to pursue the case rigorously so Hamid can be released soon."
There are reports that Hamid was attacked in jail. He has since been kept in solitary confinement as a 'hifazati qaidi' (prisoner under special protection). For this reason, Hegde is keen that the ministry of external affairs and the Indian high commission in Pakistan should demand consular access to him. "Our consular representatives should have been allowed to meet him within 90 days of the court order, instead 120 days have passed without result. Moreover, the gap between two court hearings spans several weeks. We must urge the government of Pakistan to speed up the trial," he said.
Back home, Ansari's mother, Fauzia, said, "I am waiting to learn when the next hearing will take place as his date of release will be announced then. My lawyer had met Hamid in jail, and for the first time, we filed the petition in his name by getting his signature. So far I have been filing pleas on his behalf by granting power of attorney to local contacts."
Fauzia met Dalbir Kaur, sister of slain prisoner Sarabjit Singh, in Mumbai on Tuesday. Kaur urged her to pray and be patient.
Ansari had crossed over to Pakistan via Afghanistan in November 2012, reportedly to help rescue a tribal girl who was being married against her wishes. He was arrested on arrival.