Not a spy, don't treat me like one: Jailed Indian files petition in Pakistan

Representational image

New Delhi: An Indian jailed in Peshawar has filed a petition in Pakistan High Court asking authorities to not regard him as a spy.

Hamid Nehal Ansari currently faces espionage charges after he reportedly entered Pakistan from Afghanistan without travel papers in 2012 to meet a woman he had met online. He was tried by a military court and was sentenced to three years rigrous imprisonment from December 15 of 2015 till December 14 of 2018.

According to Pakistan's Express Tribune, Ansari has now sought that his jail term be reduced as no evidence of anti-state acitivity has been found against him. Filed through his lawyer Qazi Muhammad Anwar, Ansari in his petition has stated that he has already spent close to two years in jail for traveling without legal documents. 

Ansari had left India for Afghanistan on a tourist visa before crossing over to Pakistan via Jalalabad. He was 27 when he was arrested from Kohat city. It is alleged that he had a fake id which identified him as Hamza.

Ansari had also filed a petition in 2016 for fair treatment in jail after Dawn reported that he received injuries during two attacks on him by fellow inmates. In his latest petition though, he seeks to drop the words "anti-state activities" with "illegal activities" on his warrants.

(With inputs from IANS)