Boy handed over to Pakistan amid tears

LAHORE: A five-year-old boy, Iftikhar and his mother were reunited after 11 months with the help of Geo TV on Saturday at the Wagah border crossing.

In March 2016, Iftikhar’s father who belonged to Jammu and Kashmir took him to India by allegedly lying to his wife that he was taking Iftikhar to a wedding with him. He took the boy to Dubai and then to Jammu.

After pangs of separation, her mother filed a case in an Indian court for his custody. In May 2016, verdict was given in her favour by the Indian court. But due  to the growing tension on the border, it took her eight months to get her son’s custody.

However, Pakistan High Commission took up the case on priority and the verdict proved that Iftikhar was a Pakistani national and be given to her mother. The Indian authorities handed over the child to the Pakistan Rangers at Wagah border where her mother was waiting anxiously to receive her. The boy was handed over to her mother by Pakistani Rangers.

As the boy touched the Pakistani soil, the mother hugged and kissed him. Her tears trickled down while talking to the media. “I am extremely happy to have my son back. I am thankful to the Pakistani government for its help for return of my child," Iftikhar's mother Rohina Kiyani told reporters at Wagah. "I had lost all hope of getting my child back. It's not a less than a miracle for me," she said.

She thanked the prime minster of Pakistan, Punjab chief minister, Interior Ministry and Pakistani High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit for their cooperation. She extended special thanks to Geo TV that had highlighted the case and campaigned for it.