Long wait over, Shah Rukh's Pakistani fan released

Amritsar, Nov 21 (IANS) Nasir Sultan, the Pakistani teenager who returned to his homeland Friday after having been imprisoned in India for over two months for illegally crossing the border, says he will come to India again to meet his idol - Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan - but with a valid passport this time.

Nasir was handed over to Pakistani authorities at the Attari-Wagah border, about 30 km from here, at 1.30 p.m.

'I got immense love and affection in India. The people here were very friendly. I still have an urge to meet Shah Rukh Khan and will return to India one day with a valid passport,' Nasir, dressed in a blue pullover and blue jeans, told reporters before crossing the border.

'It was my ignorance about rules and regulations that landed me in trouble. I missed my family and am very happy that I will be united with them again,' he added.

The police decided to allow Nasir to cross the border after the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) gave their clearance.

Nasir was arrested by the Border Security Force (BSF) in September from an area near the India-Pakistan border.

The boy, an avid fan of Shah Rukh Khan, said that he came from Pakistan in August to meet the superstar and to participate in a TV reality singing contest.

Nasir was lodged at the juvenile jail in Punjab's Faridkot town, about 250 km from Chandigarh. He was booked under the Foreigners Act and the Passport Act for entering India illegally.

Nasir, a Class 10 student, is a resident of Dir in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP) that is witnessing intense fighting between the militants and security forces.

He left his house on the morning of Aug 14, saying he would return in the evening but called his parents after about a month to inform them that he was in jail in India.

A petition was filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Chandigarh in November seeking the release of Nasir. Pakistan's human rights activist Ansar Burney had come to India to plead for his release.