Dr Khalil Chishti has finally arrived in Pakistan on an interim bail for five months after spending 20 wasted years in Indian custody. He became a victim of the typical mindset of the authorities on both sides. Dr. Chishti had gone to India in 1992 to meet his mother in Ajmer, Rajasthan. On one fateful day, amidst a brawl, one of Chishti’s nephews killed somebody in the neighbourhood. Ignoring the facts, Dr Chishti was arrested, confined to his ancestral home for 18 years and in January 2011 was sentenced to life imprisonment. Not granting Dr Chishti the right to prove his innocence and dismissing evidence amidst fears and speculations surrounding his Pakistani origins was unjust and inhuman. The gloom of incarceration was severer for being without cause. However, with those 20 years behind him, Dr Chishti has become a test case for those languishing in Indian and Pakistani jails, either on spurious charges or because they had inadvertently crossed the land or maritime border. The treatment of such people in either country is a matter of collective shame. Now that Pakistan and India are opening up trade and economic cooperation, can some time also be spared for the victims of irrational state policies on either side? People from the business and cultural spheres are now moving across the borders more freely. The time has come to find solutions for issues confronting ordinary people, the fishermen, the herdsmen, the ordinary folk walking along the fences and the visitor who has to prove his identity and constantly report to the police on arriving in either India or Pakistan. Is all this bureaucratese not in sharp contrast with the feelings of warmth and bonhomie the people of either country encounter in the other? It is such a pity that despite being neighbours sharing thousands of years of common history and culture, the proximity of India and Pakistan has not helped the cause of interaction between the two peoples on a scale commensurate with the deep seated desire in both countries. On returning to Pakistan, Dr Chishti expressed his desire to meet Sarabjit Singh, held in Lahore Jail for 21 years. He is said to be a victim of mistaken identity. Is it not amazing and tragic that an incarcerated prisoner’s identity could not be determined even after 21 years? No doubt the fact that he is an Indian national has queered the pitch for so long. All sane people in both countries would join those activists, especially Justice Markandey Kutju of the Supreme Court of India, who want the Pakistan government to reciprocate India’s humanitarian gesture by releasing Sarabjit. Like the recently opened trade gate at Wagha, both countries need to open more gates of mutual respect and understanding in our hearts to give the Chishtis and Sarabjits relief from their unnecessary ordeal. *