New Delhi, Feb 7 : In an emotional sign-off, five Pakistanis, who served varying jail terms in India for illegal stay, returned to their country on Friday from Amritsar's Attari border, expressing gratitude for their release and humane treatment during incarceration.

Among those set free by the Indian government was 'WhatsApp lover' Ajmal Hussain who sneaked into a foreign land to marry his lover and relative's daughter in Haryana.

Jailed in Punjab's Tarn Taran since 2022, Hussain admitted that he committed a big mistake by taking the extreme step of illegally crossing over to India to meet his lover.

'I hail from Kasur village in Pakistan and was involved in a long-distance relationship with the daughter of a relative and exchanged messages with her over WhatsApp,' he said.

Another released prisoner, Jaffer Hussain, who was returning after 17-year imprisonment in Alwar jail in a spying case, also looked relieved.

'We were treated very well by the jail authorities,' said the resident of Faisalabad in Pakistan's Punjab.

He said he wasn't sure if his wife and two children back home were aware that he was serving a jail term in India.

Another released prisoner, Masroor, thanked the Indian authorities for good treatment in jail. 'Despite being a convict, I got a lot of love in India. It never felt that I was in a foreign country,' said the Karachi resident who was arrested in 2008 for overstaying in India after the expiry of his six-month visa.

He said he was a trained worker for cutting and fixing glass and was arrested in Lucknow. The Karachi resident, who served 16 years in an Indian jail, said he was looking forward to meeting his wife in Pakistan.

Nand Lal, 36, another Pakistani returning to his home in Karachi expressed gratitude towards both the Indian and Pakistan governments for facilitating his release.

'I had come to India on a valid visa to sort out a land dispute with my relatives but was arrested after I visited Jodhpur without permission. My visa was for Jaisalmer,' said Nand Lal, who served a term of seven years in Central Jail, Jaipur.

Fisherman Khadim Hussain, who served a five-year term in a Gujarat jail, was also among those released. He was arrested after accidentally entering Indian waters while fishing in 2022.

/IANS