Pak scientist Chisti released from Ajmer jail

Ajmer (Rajasthan, India), Apr 11 (PTI) After spending over 14 months in jail, 80-year-old ailing Pakistani scientist Mohammed Khalil Chisti was today released on bail from Ajmer jail in a two-decade-old murder case On release, he said he wanted to return to his homeland soon. "I am happy to be out of the jail. I believe in god and thank him. My wish is to see my family members in Pakistan as soon as possible," Chisti, who was granted bail by India's Supreme Court on Monday, said as his brother Jamil Chisti and cousin Aaiyad Anwar-ul-Haq along with others gave him a warm welcome on stepping out of the Ajmer central jail. Speaking in English, Chisti said, "I would also thank President Asif Ali Zardari for making efforts for me and for visiting Ajmer". Chisti was granted bail on humanitarian grounds a day after his case was discussed between the authorities of the two countries during Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari's private visit to India on Sunday to pray at the shrine of the medieval Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer. Activists in India and Pakistan have been demanding Chisti's release. After furnishing a personal bond of Rupees 100,000 (USD 2,000) and two securities of 50,000 (USD 1,000) each in a fast track court, his brothers went to the jail where he was released after completion of formalities. Wearing a skull cap and holding a 'bidi' in hand, a relieved Chisti said he was eagerly waiting to go back home. While granting bail, the apex court had directed Chisti not to leave the country without prior permission from the court. An ailing Chisti had been lodged in the jail hospital. A microbiologist by profession, Chisti had come to visit his sick mother in Ajmer in 1992 when he got embroiled in a family dispute and, in the ensuing melee, one of his neighbours was shot dead while his nephew got injured. Born in Ajmer to a prosperous family of caretakers of the shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, Chisti was studying in an area of India that became Pakistan with the country's partition on independence in 1947. He chose to stay on Pakistan. "This is the blessing of Khawaja Garib Nawaz," said Jamil Chisti on his release. The apex court bench comprising justices P Sathasivam and J Chelameswar considered his old age and the fact that he has been in India since 1992, after the murder case was lodged against him, while granting bail to Chisti. The Pakistani national was serving life term after his conviction in January last year. PTI Caption for pic: Pakistani scientist Khalil Chishti talking to the media after his release from jail in Ajmer on Wednesday. PTI Photo