India to release star-struck teenager if Punjab confirms he is just a Shah Rukh Khan fan, not a terrorist
India to release star-struck teenager if Punjab confirms he is just a Shah Rukh Khan fan, not a terroristNEW DELHI: Pakistan has approached the external affairs ministry for the release of Nasir Sultan, a teenager with starry dreams, who crossed the border into India to meet actor Shah Rukh Khan.
“We have formally taken up the issue of Nasir Sultan and are hoping to get the details from the ministry of external affairs,” Pakistan’s deputy high commissioner Afrasaib confirmed on Monday. DNA had first reported (October 20) the incident of Nasir illegally crossing over to India and ending up in Faridkot jail. The Pakistan high commission took up the matter after reading newspaper reports.
Indian officials said they had asked Punjab authorities for details. A senior official who did not wish to be named said New Delhi would release the teenager as soon as the state government gives them the green light.
“We will certainly allow the teenager to return as soon as possible, but there is a procedure to be followed. The police have to make sure that his motive was merely to seek out a Bollywood actor,” an official said. “As soon as we get clearance from the Punjab authorities we will let him return. It is not our policy to keep someone in prison for a simple mistake like this,” the official added.
However, there have been several instances of India and Pakistan keeping innocents in each others’ prisons for years. Thankfully for Nasir Sultan, Indo-Pakistan ties, which had touched a low after the bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul, are now on the mend.
The recent visit of Pakistan’s national security adviser and the anti-terror talks that followed did much to improve the atmosphere, decidedly cold after Kabul. The improvement was a direct result of prime minister Manmohan Singh’s meeting with Pakistani president Asif Zardari in New York in September.
(With inputs from Amir Mir)
g_seema@dnaindia.netamir.mir1969@gmail.com 
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