Four Pakistani boys languishing in the juvenile observation home here for seven to 10 months were released on Wednesday following a directive of the External Affairs Ministry.

Carrying packets of sweets, new clothes and other gifts, the boys -- Imran Masseah (14), Mithun Masseah (12), Shaukat Ali (14) and Khurram (12) -- were escorted to the Wagah border by Deputy Superintendent of Police Lal Singh.

The boys said they were treated very well and would never forget the friendship love and affection showered upon them.

According to officials in New Delhi, the district administration had on Monday received a directive from the Ministry of External Affairs through the Punjab Home Department to release the boys whose verifications were completed by the Pakistan government.

Image: Pakistani child prisoners are escorted by security forces across the Indo-Pakistan Border at the Wagah Border Post.
Photograph: Narinder Nanu/AFP/Getty Images