Geeta, a speech and hearing impaired girl from India who was stranded in Pakistan for over a decade, returned on Monday. She will be reunited with her family after a DNA test.
She flew on a Pakistan International Airlines flight from Karachi, accompanied by five representatives of the Edhi Foundation, including Bilqees Edhi. Edhi had been leading a campaign for her return to India.
Geeta used sign language to thank Pakistani people for hosting her and caring for her before boarding the flight in Karachi. Edhi told reporters they would stay in touch with Geeta through social media and even visit her. “She is not really separating from us,” he said.
Credit where due, well done script writers of #BajrangiBhaijaan without whom "our daughter" #Geeta would have spent many more yrs forgotten.
— Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) October 26, 2015
गीता – भारत की बेटी का भारत में स्वागत.
Geeta – Welcome home our daughter.
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) October 26, 2015
Geeta, believed to be 23 now, was received at the airport by officials from the External Affairs Ministry officials and senior Pakistani diplomats. In a rare gesture, Indian government will treat the representatives of the Karachi-based charity as state guests.