When Facebook Became A Nightmare For Hamid Ansari

Software engineer Hamid Nihal Ansari has gone through hell. Having spent almost six years in a Pakistani jail,  Ansari now after his emotional return to India, Mumbai, reportedly  has a advice to youth is simple: Don’t fall in love over Facebook.

He should know. It was on Facebook that he fell in love with a girl from Pakistan, went there to prevent her ‘forced’ marriage and before he could meet her, was arrested and jailed.

That was six years ago. As he reached his home in suburban Mumbai, he was in a reflective mood.

“Never hide anything from your parents. Only your parents stand by your side in testing times. And never resort to any illegal means to go to any place,” Ansari told the media.

Asked what advice will he give to people who fall in love on Facebook, Ansari said, “Don’t take (that) risk. Don’t fall in love. Don’t fall in love by trusting (what is on) Facebook.”

Ansari was arrested in Pakistan in 2012 for allegedly entering that country from Afghanistan reportedly to meet a woman he had befriended online. Pakistan slapped espionage charges against him. He was repatriated on Tuesday and handed over to India at the Wagah-Attari border.