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Indian woman stuck in Pakistan to return home after almost 12 years

“They’ve targeted terrorist sanctuaries and have restored government control to parts of Pakistan that have previously been safe havens for terrorists”, Shultz said, while urging Pakistan to “take action against all militant groups without discriminating”.

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23-year-old Geeta has been staying at the Edhi Foundation shelter home here for over a decade.

She was thought to have strayed into Pakistani territory by mistake, but could not remember or explain exactly where she was from, and police soon handed her over to the Edhi Foundation.

When asked about the U.S. measures to sell eight new F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, Swarup said that, “Our reservation to supply of such systems is well known and it needs no reiteration”.

The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said the Centre hopes Pakistan delivers on the promises it has made to tackle terror groups including the Lashkar-e-Taiba, said a Times of India report.

“On October 26, Geeta will be back to India with five members of the Edhi Foundation, who will be treated as state guests”, the spokesperson said.

Now – after repeated false leads, and thanks to a Bollywood hit and the single photograph – Geeta believes she has finally identified her family.

“All that I would say is that given Pakistan’s history of clandestine and illegal activity on the nuclear side, obviously the implications of this assertion by Pakistan foreign secretary will have to be carefully considered”, he said, noting the US-Pakistan joint statement mentions that the two leaders discussed “nuclear terrorism”. Her story came to limelight after an Indian film, Bajrangi Bhaijan, depicted a similar tale. He said they had got assurances that they would remain in New Delhi until the Indian authorities completed DNA tests to confirm the parentage of Geeta.

Thirteen years ago, Geeta was brought to Edhi Foundation in Karachi by Rangers personnel who had found her near Indo-Pak border in Punjab, according to officials of the foundation.

A woman in Pakistan is set to be reunited with her Indian family after nearly 12 years. They reportedly live in Bihar.

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Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan, T C A Raghavan, and his wife had visited Geeta in August after Swaraj directed him to meet her and try to locate her family.

Rizwan Tabassum—AFP