December 27, 2003	Saturday	Ziqa’ad 3, 1424

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LAHORE, Dec 26: The delegation of Indian jurists left here for home on Friday amid emotional scene, which saw almost all members breaking in tears. They arrived here on Dec 22.

The jurists left in the afternoon through the Wagah border with heavy heart. Women were sobbing and so were some other members of the delegation.

They extended to the Punjab Bar Council an invitation to visit India and the council accepted it. The council vice-chairperson, Arif Chaudhry, said they had accepted the invitation to visit India in March 2004. He said about 100 lawyers would form the delegation.

Advocate-General Syed Shabbar Raza Razvi, VC and a good number of the members of the Punjab Bar Council saw the delegation off. The Indians were seen locked in long embraces with their hosts as if they were reluctant to leave.

Punjab-Haryana High Court Bar Association President Dr Anmol Rattan Sidhu, advocate-general Harbhagwan Singh and some other members of the delegation were seen crying as they crossed into their own territory.

Talking to reporters, Mr Santa Ram Batra, the chairman of the Punjab Agricultural Marketing Board, who enjoys the status of a minister, said the five days they had spent in Pakistan would go down in the memory as the most unforgettable days as they had found only love from their Pakistani brethren whether in the legal profession or not.

Punjab MLA Shadi Lal Batra said he was highly moved with the hospitality the people of Lahore had extended to them. He said he was leaving with a heavy heart and was feeling as if he had come to his own home.

Most of them said they were going away from their own home and would cherish the memories of their visit for a long time to come.

The last engagement of the Indian jurists in the city was a reception hosted by Governor Khalid Maqbool in the morning.