The villagers who lit firecrackers gave a rousing welcome to Singh.
Jammu:
After spending 29 years in a Pakistani jail, Kathua resident Kuldeep Singh returned to his hometown here on Friday night to a rousing welcome, after which he asked the youth to “not hold back from making any sacrifices for the country”.
Mr Singh (53), along with Mohammad Gufran from Aurangabad, were released by Pakistan on Monday and after their repatriation they reached the Red Cross building at the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital in Punjab.
Mr Singh said that after his arrest in 1992, Pakistani agencies tortured him for three years. He was produced in a court for alleged espionage and was later sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Mr Singh, a resident of Makwal village in Billawar, Kathua, was accorded a warm welcome by the villagers, who lit firecrackers and raised slogans in praise of the country and him.
He told reporters, “My message to all my friends, villagers and especially the youth is to stay away from wrong paths which can harm them. But never back down when it comes to making any sacrifice for the country. needed.”
After his arrest in Pakistan, his family members said that they came to know about his whereabouts only when he wrote to them from Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore.
He said he had lost all hope as he had no contact with Mr Singh for the past eight years after the murder of Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh, who was also convicted of espionage.
“We are glad that he is back with us after so many years,” said a relative.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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