Arrested on charges of spying for the Indian government, this 67-year-old man faced horrific torture, confinement of the best years of his life and some close shaves with death sentences. Pardon of death sentence and subsequent release after long imprisonment may have led him to find a "staggering change" in the world to the extent that he "couldn't recognise my own village", but it surely hasn't effaced his positivity, which makes him impervious to media's attempts to evoke a sordid tale of suffering from him.

This was evident at a recent press meet organised for him here today. The rustic voice has its confidence intact when the questions about torture are firmly replied, "Yes, I suffered. But I am not going to provide you gory details of what I went through in the prison just to get some media coverage. It is 15 minutes of fame for me, but if I give any elaborate reply, the media would blow it up and that in turn could make life all the more miserable for the Indians who are still captive in Pakistan jails. What I faced was my destiny and now I have a fresh lease of life and I thank God for that."

Though his conversation suggests that he was sent on a mission by Military Intelligence, he refuses take any names. "I went there on a mission for my country. I was not on a terrorism mission, it was merely a reconnaissance work, where I had to provide details of army locations and their arsenal. I was prepared accordingly. I took an assumed name of Ibrahim and even underwent circumcision. During my numerous missions, I lived a dangerous existence and went to places as far as those bordering Afghanistan. But to give any name now would tantamount to breach of trust."

When asked how he found 35 years in Pakistan prisons, he shot back, "You thought I was on a picnic?" Similarly, when another inquisitive scribe asked about the route he took to infiltrate to Pakistan, he countered, "Have you actually seen the border? When I say border, it means much more than a fancy checkpost. It runs to several kilometers and I assure you sir that you wouldn't have heard of the names of even Indian villages which came en route my journey to Pakistan."

He, however, has his complaint against the government. "I have come to know in the last three days that my wife and family were not taken care of. No government agency offered help of any sort. No pension or compensation was given." The last payment his family received from the government was a lump sum amount of Rs 5,000 in 1977, which was given as an accumulation of his past salary. The Punjab Chief Minister has now promised his family a cumulative monthly pension of Rs 10,000 (Rs 5,000 each for him and his wife) and assured him a new house and a suitable employment for his handicapped son.