We waited 2,232 days for our son: Hamid Ansari's parents

Versova resident Hamid Nihal Ansari, 33, after spending six years in a Pakistani prison the charges of espionage and possessing forged documents, returned home on Thursday morning.

On his arrival at Mumbai airport from New Delhi, Hamid said it was time to move on in life and instead of reliving old agony, he wanted to look ahead.

"I made my mistakes but I don't want to go into those things now. There are three things which if anyone keeps in mind they could escape the miserable situation in which I was trapped for six long years. Firstly, never use social media for building any personal relationships. Second, always be open and frank with your parents because they are the only people who will stand by you in the ups and downs, and third, proceeding legally for all important matters is a must as it could save one from a troublesome situation," said Hamid, while speaking to media the outside his home.

Hamid's mother Fauzia told DNA, "The wait for Hamid was 2,232 days. The present moment is as big as Eid for us. It was hard to believe he was in prison, and now it is hard to believe he is finally home safely. After learning he was to be released, my impatience only grew. We were not granted visa for Pakistan and we hadn't spoken to him all these years. Presence of some people in Pakistan who stood for Hamid proved more beneficial than our absence."

"Hamid has paid a very heavy price. He is taking time to get over all those things he faced physically and mentally. All these years we have not attended any social gathering or family event, nor have we celebrated Eid. But now, the time has come to leave the bad phase and move towards a promising future," she said.

"The struggle is not just Hamid's but also of prisoners of war, fishermen and other wrongly incarcerated people. I pray they come home to their families," said Fauzia.

According to Hamid's family, he was tortured in the Pakistani prison. "Hamid was kept in solitary confinement in an underground cell in Peshawar where he was initially subjected to many harassments. He was made to stand for weeks, blindfolded for many days, given little food, the place was infested with worms. His left eye's retina was perforated during interrogation," said a kin.

Hamid's father Nihal Ansari said, "Going to Delhi all these years became part of our lives: More than 70 trips with all the paperwork with the single aim of getting him home. We had a testing time. But now it's time to celebrate."

SEPARATION AND HOMECOMING

Ansari, 33, was arrested on espionage charges in Pakistan in 2012 for allegedly entering that country from Afghanistan reportedly to meet a woman he had befriended on social media. 

He was repatriated on Tuesday. Two days after he was handed over to India at the Wagah-Attari border, Ansari and his parents left Delhi for Mumbai in an Air India flight that landed 9.30 am