Pakistan hands over 'missing' Indian pilgrim to Indian authorities

Pakistan authorities on Tuesday handed over an Indian national who had gone missing in Pakistan on a pilgrimage, according to officials.

The Sikh pilgrims had gone to Pakistan to celebrate Baisakhi festival and returned to Amritsar on April 21 after a 10-day pilgrimage. But 24-year-old Amarjit Singh, a resident of village Niranjanpura in Amritsar district, was not to be found in the group.

Pakistan authorities later found him at the home of his "Facebook friend" Amir Razak in Sheikhupura, 50 km from Lahore, and handed him over to their Indian counterparts, the officials said.

The boy told officials that he had gone to stay with his friend Razak on April 16, telling his hosts that he held a visa for over a month's stay in Pakistan.

On April 21, Pakistani and Indian TV channels reported about his sudden disappearance from a gurdwara.  Indian authorities also reported him missing after they learnt that he was found among the pilgrims who had returned home.

On hearing the news, the host family reported the matter to police, and officials from the Evacuee Trust Property Board of Pakistan took Singh to Lahore on Monday.

Amarjit Singh's passport was deposited with the officials of the Evacuee Trust Property Board, who reportedly informed top officials when he failed to collect it within the stipulated time.

The Pakistani police had launched a manhunt in Nankana Sahib where a number of Sikh families live, reports said.

Kiran Bala, another member of the same group, had also not come back with the jatha, after reportedly converting to Islam and marrying a Pakistani man.

(With inputs from agencies)