Vikas Swarup, a spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, tweeted photos of the young girl accompanied by Bilquis Edhi and Edhi Foundation members being received at the airport in New Delhi by Indian officials.
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Geeta was reportedly around eight years old when she was found by Pakistani rangers on the Samjhauta Express at Lahore 15 years ago. For more than 10 years she was cared for by the Edhi Foundation, a Pakistani charity.
Geeta was visibly jubilant as she left the Edhi shelter home in Karachi, where she had spent most of her time in Pakistan.
Fahad Edhi said they had been assured by the Indian government that they could remain in Delhi till the DNA tests were done and that if they were negative, Geeta would be placed in safe custody.
Her co-worker, Razia Saher, said: “She was the only friend I had here”.
He was speaking to the media after Geeta, who had been stranded in Pakistan for over a decade arrived here at the Indira Gandhi worldwide Airport via a Pakistani flight.
Geeta was adopted by the Karachi-based Edhi Foundation’s Bilquees Edhi.
“I do not assume any quantity of phrases are sufficient to thank the Edhi family for taking good care of Geeta”. If not, the government has identified suitable institutions in Delhi and Indore where she will be looked after.
Media in-charge at the Pakistan High Commission Manzoor Ali Memon told media that the commission would hold a reception for Geeta in the evening.
“Geeta met the Mahato couple today, but she could not recognize them”.
“We are absolutely sure that Geeta is our Heera”. “If the DNA doesn’t match, the Indian authorities will continue the search for her family”, the charity rep says.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said the woman, named Geeta, is “refusing to recognise her family”.
Geeta’s story came to limelight after the release of Salman Khan starer “Bajrangi Bhaijaan” in which the hero unites a girl separated from her Pakistani mother who was visiting India.
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“They have taken tremendous effort to keep Geeta happy and ensure that she does not feel lonely”.
