Peshawar: Indian Citizen, Hamid Nehal Ansari has been jailed for three years for entering Pakistan illegally to meet his Pakistani girlfriend three years ago. He was caught for espionage.
A military court in Kohat city passed the sentence over the weekend in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. According to a recent report, he has been shifted to the Peshawar Central Prison and also has a right to appeal.
Hamid, who is 31 years of age and is a teacher at a Mumbai management college, confessed to illegally enter Pakistan from Afghanistan for espionage.
He was also reported to be found with "sensitive documents". According to Dawn quoted unnamed officials, Ansari had seven Facebook accounts as well as around 30 email IDs.
Last month, the Pakistan defence ministry informed the Peshawar High Court that Ansari was in army custody and would face court martial.
After that, a two-member bench on January 13 disposed off a habeas corpus petition filed by Fauzia Ansari, the Indian's mother, against his alleged illegal detention.
According to the recent reports, he was arrested in November 2012 and until last month his whereabouts were unknown.
His mother has also claimed that Ansari was in touch with a Pakistani girl who encouraged him to enter Pakistan from Afghanistan without the visa. She also said both became friends over social media and had gone to Pakistan to meet her.
Ansari's lawyer earlier sent an application to the Pakistan Supreme Court's Human Rights Cell, which forwarded the case to the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances.
The Commission had on April 10, 2014, directed the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Home Department to set up a joint investigation team to trace Ansari.
He also told the police to register an FIR about his disappearance.(IANS)