Hamid Ansari, the man Sushma Swaraj helped bring back from aPakistan jail, says the former external affairs minister’s death was a ‘bigloss’ for him

“I have deep respect for her and she’ll always stay alive inmy heart. She was like a mother to me. After my return from Pakistan, sheguided me to look ahead. It’s a big loss for me,” ANI quoted Ansari as saying.He spent three years in a Pakistan jail.

Ansari had entered Pakistan on November 12, 2012, to meet awoman whom he had befriended on social media. The 33-year-old was arrested inNovember 2012 and handed a three-year sentence in 2015 for possessing a fakePakistani identity card.

Ansari had been lodged in Peshawar’s central jail afterbeing sentenced by the military court. His jail term ended on December 15 andhe was repatriated after the Peshawar high court gave the Pakistani governmenta month’s deadline to complete the process.

“I was worried and unsure if I would ever be able to returnhome from Pakistan, but eventually when I saw there were a lot of peoplesupporting me, I started praying. My family, the Indian government and SushmaSwaraj helped me a lot,” Ansari had said on his return. “Mera Bharat mahaan,meri madam mahaan, sab madam ne hi kiya hai (My India is great, my madam isgreat. You did everything),” Ansari’s mother Fauzia said on his return.