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| August 11, 2003 | Monday | Jumadi-us-Sani 12, 1424 |
Pakistani boy heads for home
NEW DELHI, Aug 10: A 13-year-old Pakistani cowherder detained for more than a month at a juvenile home after he strayed over the Indian border was released Sunday and left for New Delhi by train under police escort.
The illiterate boy, Munir, left the northwestern state of Rajasthan and is expected to return home Tuesday on a recently resumed bus service between India and Pakistan.
The Press Trust of India (PTI) said there was an emotional farewell for Munir in the Rajasthan town of Bikaner where he was loaded with biscuits, toffees and other gifts by children.
Local girls tied to his wrist a rakhi, a thread symbolising a sister’s love for her brother.
Interviewed by PTI on the eve of his departure, Munir spoke well of the hospitality accorded him and said he would bring home half a kilogram of mangoes and clothes given to him as gifts.
The Indian government last week announced that Munir was being freed as a goodwill gesture in the recent peace initiative between the two countries.
Munir was detained by Indian authorities after wandering across the border on June 26 and detained in a regular jail. However, a group of Indians pooled their money to get him transferred to a juvenile home.
The boy belongs to a cowherder family and reportedly lost his way.—AFP
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