India welcomes repatriation of Hamid Nehal Ansari by Pak

India on Monday welcomed the release of Indian national Hamid Nehal Ansari, who was incarcerated in a Pakistan jail.

Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the release of Ansari comes as a "great relief for the family members."

"We have received a note from Pakistan today that they are releasing Indian national Hamid Nehal Ansari tomorrow. It is a matter of great relief, especially for the family members, that six years of incarceration of the Indian civilian in Pakistan jail is coming to an end. We hope that Pakistan would respond and organise an early visit of the Joint Judicial Committee so that the issues of prisoners can be dealt with in a humanitarian and timely manner," Kumar asserted.

Addressing the issue of mentally unsound prisoners lodged in jail, Kumar said, "We also await Pakistan's response to the visit of Indian medical team to meet mentally unsound prisoners with a view to facilitate their nativity verification and subsequent repatriation."

Furthermore, the MEA spokesperson expressed hope that Pakistan will release other Indian civilians and fishermen whose nationalities have been confirmed and have completed their sentences, despite which they continue to languish in Pakistan jails.

A teacher at the Mumbai Management College, Ansari had gone missing after being apprehended by the Pakistani intelligence agencies and local police from Kohat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in November 2012.

The news of Ansari's arrest became public after his mother Fauzia Ansari filed a habeas corpus petition in the High Court here.

On January 13, the Court was informed that Ansari was in the custody of Pakistani Army and was being tried by a military court.

The Pakistani security agencies had claimed that Ansari had used fake identity card in the name of "Hamza" and he had entered Pakistan through Afghanistan without travel documents. They charged him for "anti-state activities".