To meet Pakistani girl, BD man walks to Attari

AMRITSAR: Proving love knows no boundaries; a Bangladeshi national first crossed the India-Bangladesh border illegally, then covered 2,000 km, mostly on foot, amid the Covid-19 lockdown to reach the India-Pakistan border in the hope of meeting his social media friend from Karachi. However, the BSF arrested him while trying to cross the border.

Identified as Nayan Mian, alias Abdullah, 26, he is a resident of Shariatpur, a district in the Dhaka division of central Bangladesh. A senior BSF officer said he arrested for loitering near the border. He was only carrying a mobile phone with a Bangladeshi SIM card and Indian currency notes.

About his intention to cross the border without a passport, Mian told officials that he was desperate to go to Pakistan as the girl’s family members were marrying her off.

During questioning, he revealed that the girl’s family shared ties with his family, but they were separated after his parents shifted to Bangladesh in 1971. A few years ago, he connected with the girl on social media and started liking her.

Mian said he first reached Kolkata, then passed through Agra, New Delhi and then came to Punjab. “The girl is my cousin and we were connected through social media. We used to talk through video calls, but had been out of touch for 10 to 15 days. She had accepted my marriage proposal and that’s why I intended to visit her. I heard that many stranded Pakistanis were being repatriated these days, so I thought of taking a chance,” he said.

“On May 31, we found him loitering near the Attari-Wagah border. As he could not cross it because of the fencing, he was searching for a gap. He had entered India after crossing a riverine on the India-Bangladesh border. After reaching Kolkata, he started on foot and also took lift to reach New Delhi. In the same manner, he reached Ludhiana and then Amritsar. From Amritsar, he walked to Attari,” said the officer.

The BSF handed him over to the Gharinda police for further investigation. SHO Gagandeep Singh said he had been booked under provisions of the Foreigners Act and the investigation was on.