A decade in jail, 10-yr-old Heena to return to Pakistan

Born and brought up inside the unforgiving confines of the Amritsar jail in Punjab, Heena, now 10 years of age, will soon walk free and return to Pakistan where she belongs.

The Pakistan High Commission on Monday finally settled the issue of her nationality by endorsing her to be theirs.

The visit of Pakistan high commission officials to the Amritsar jail came after the Centre gave its clearance for the release of Heena, along with her mother Fatima and aunt Mumtaz.

The two women were arrested on charges of drug smuggling at the Attari border in Amritsar in May 2006.

Both were convicted for the offence. They completed their 10-year jail term last year. Heena hasn’t seen the world outside ever since she was born. The girl spent almost her entire childhood within the jail premises for no fault of hers.

Pakistan’s high commission counsellor Fauzia Manzoor met all three in jail.

The visiting Pakistan official endorsed Heena’s nationality which now tends to remove the complexities surrounding her release.

Since Heena was born in India, her citizenship needed to be endorsed by Pakistan. Sources said, a no-objection certificate will now be required from the Ministry of Home Affairs to repatriate the three to Pakistan. As a comforting gesture, the Pakistan counsellor gave Rs 2,000 as Edi to Heena and the two sisters, sources said.

Given the complexities surrounding the case, the two sisters, and Heena by default, were overstaying in the jail transit camp from November last year awaiting clearances and documentation for release. Fatima was pregnant at the time of her arrest. She gave birth to Heena as a convict lodged in jail.

The court in its order punished the two sisters with a fine of Rs 2 lakh each along with 10-year jail term. Failure to pay the fine would have attracted another two years in jail. That’s what exactly turned out to be the case. But Batala-based NGO, Humanity Club, came forward to help Heena and her family secure their release. The NGO upfront paid Rs 4 lakh as fine on behalf of the two sisters for their release.