The Juvenile Justice Board in Poonch of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday ordered the release of 14-year-old Asmad Ali and 16-year-old Khayyam Masood, the two minors who were kept in an Indian observation home after they accidentally crossed the border via Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Asmad Ali has been in the home for the past nine months and Khayyam Masood for a year. The government of India has been asked to send the teenagers to their native place.
Mehmood Anjum, member of the Juvenile Justice Board, said that the release orders were issued on Thursday. The Hindu had reported in July on the plight of these minors and their families back in Pakistan who were waiting for their release.
Asmad Ali, from PoK’s Tatrinote village, was caught crossing the border by the Indian Army on November 25, 2021. He had landed in India while he was following his pet pigeons. Khayyam Mehmood found himself on Indian territory on August 10, 2021 when he was running after his goats.
The families of the two boys have been running from pillar to post to get their wards back. Hearing the news of their imminent release, Khateeja Khatoon, 70, Asmad’s maternal grandmother expressed relief and happiness, saying she hoped he would be back home soon.
“Getting stuck in a foreign land was the second cruellest thing that happened to my boy after the death of his mother. I want to see him back in his land soon. I request the Indian government to please send my boy back,” said Ms. Khatoon.
While the wait to go home has ended for two teenagers, 15-year-old Sainullah, also from Pakistan, is still awaiting his orders for release. He accidentally landed in India in September 2021 and is another victim of delays. He hasn’t spoken to his family in the last 11 months.
“Not just Sainullah, 17-year-old Mohammed Anwar, who had crossed the border from J&K’s Kana Chak area in 2019 (he was 14 at that time), is also languishing in India for over three years now. His trial went on for over a year and he was acquitted too. But yet, he couldn’t go back home. Blame it on the system or the relationship between the two countries,” says Rahul Kapoor, the social activist who was instrumental in the release of Asmad.
Mr. Kapoor, who started an online petition for Asmad’s release via change.org, requested the Indian government to send back Asmad and Khayyam as soon as possible and also look into the cases of Sainullah and Mohammed Anwar.
