An ordeal has finally ended for one Iranian family in the town of Bojnoord , in North Khorasan province , with the return home of their kidnapped son , after spending 476 days in captivity in neighbouring Pakistan.

Saeed Barati, an Iranian border guard who was kidnapped in May 2017 in the town on Mirjaveh, in Sistan-Balouchestan province, close to the border with Pakistan, was handed over to Iranian officials at a low-key ceremony along the border between the two countries.

In May 2017, after a skirmish between Iranian border guards and "Jaish-al-Adl terrorists" in the town of Mirjaveh in south eastern Iran, Saeed Barati was injured and captured by the terrorists who quickly transfer him across the border to neighbouring Pakistan, holding him hostage for close to 500 days.

A quiet diplomatic effort started right there and then, to free the Iranian border guard and return him to the embrace of his family,  more than 800 kilometers away, in the town of Bojnoord, in north eastern Iran. Behind-the-scenes diplomacy, not just by diplomats of the foreign ministry, but also by officials at the defence ministry, and the interior ministry, ensured that Barati's case was always part of discussions at virtually every  meeting between Iranian and Pakistani officials.

The diplomatic efforts paid off when Saeed Barati, finally returned home on Friday 17 August 2018, to a tumultuous welcome by his friends, family, and the people of Bojnoord,  having spent 476 days in captivity, effectively a  hostage at the mercy of terrorists who had shown no qualms about murdering innocent people.

In a televised interview, sitting alongside his parents, the unassuming young man was asked whether  he would accept once again, an army posting to Mirjaveh, close to the border with Pakistan !  He replied: "I will go there gladly and willingly. I am a soldier for my country !!"