Islamabad, Oct 26 (IANS) Some dreams can go horribly wrong. Nasir Sultan, 15, a resident of a semi-tribal area in North West Frontier Province (NWFP), wanted to act in films like his favourite Bollywood star, Shah Rukh Khan. He crossed the border to chase his dream. He is now in a jail in India.
Sultan, a class 10 student, is a resident of Dir in NWFP that is witnessing intense fighting between the militants and security forces.
According to Sultan's uncle Hussain, the lad left his house Aug 14 morning, the Independence Day of Pakistan with some friends, saying he would return in the evening.
His friends, however, said that Sultan had left them in the morning without telling them anything.
When Sultan did not return home by evening, his parents and family members started looking for him in and around the town and later in other cities.
'We called almost every friend and family member living in different cities but no one had a clue about Sultan,' Hussain said.
'Later, we thought that he might have been lured by terrorists and may have gone to tribal areas with them to fight against security forces,' Hussain added.
But, Hussain said, to their 'pleasant surprise' the boy called on his father's cell phone late Monday.
Sultan said he was in a jail in Faridkot in Indian Punjab. He was using some other prisoner's phone and didn't talk much but was crying and asked his father to get him released from prison.
Hussain said they thank god that Sultan is safe.
'We were worried that he may have been captured by terrorists and may be used in some terrorist activity,' Hussain said.
Hussain said the boy's father, Sultan Zareen, has applied for a passport and is preparing to visit India to meet his son.
Hussain hoped that human rights activists in India will take up Sultan's case and the boy would be released soon.
He also appealed to Pakistani human rights activist Ansar Burney, who is visiting India, to take up this case with the Indian authorities.
'My nephew is innocent and he may be interrogated or interviewed... he had gone (to India) just to become a (Bollywood) star,' Hussain said.
He said that for the last two years Sultan used to mimic Shah Rukh Khan and had 'kept his hairstyle just like him (Shah Rukh)'.
'Sultan used to tell his cousins that one day he would replace Shah Rukh Khan in Indian films,' Hussain said.
Hussain said that Sultan's father is a poor man and works at a gas station where he earns ten thousand rupees a month.
'I appeal to the governments of Pakistan and India and human rights organisations for release of my nephew as we can't afford to travel to India and fight his case,' Hussain said.
Hussain said Sultan had gone without any travel documents and 'we don't know how he managed to cross the border, but he used to say that he would go to India to become a star and often asked how he could reach Mumbai.'
He said the family has contacted the police in Faridkot and has been told that Sultan was in good health and has been charged with illegally crossing the border.
His case, however, has not yet been heard in any court in Faridkot, said Hussain citing the information the family received from the police in India.
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