Geeta, the dead-mute girl who was left stranded in Pakistan for over a decade, arrived in New Delhi earlier today via a PIA flight to reunite with her family.
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.
The people, who Geeta believes are her family, were also present at the airport to greet her.
Geeta’s presence at Edhi Home in Karachi three years ago, where she had stayed for 13 years.
Attired in red and white Shalwar Kameez, Geeta appeared excited to soon be reunited with her family in India, if the Indian family’s claims turn out to be correct after DNA tests.
At the Karachi airport before departing, Geeta used her hands and facial expressions to thank Pakistanis for all the love and care that she received throughout her stay.
Earlier, addressing a press conference along with Geeta and others here, Faisal Edhi of Edhi Welfare Trust told media persons that there are still some doubts about the claims of Indian family which believes Geeta is their lost girl.
He said in case the family is found not to have any biological connection Geeta, she will be kept in one of the two identified institutions in India where she will stay till her real family is found.
Faisal Edhi said that Bilqees Edhi, Shabbana Edhi and Saad Edhi are accompanying Geeta on her journey back home.
He said they will take PIA’s flight number PK-272 in the morning today that will land in New Delhi at 10:20 AM.
Fifteen years ago Geeta had crossed into the Pakistani border from India. Later, she ended up at Edhi Home – a charity shelter for the destitute and homeless – for a period of 13 years.
DNA test in India
“This is my father, and my younger brother,” Geeta said during an interview in Karachi this week using a combination of sign language and facial expressions as she pointed to the photograph showing the family from the Indian state of Bihar.
A woman also shown in the picture was believed to be her stepmother.
Though her eyes glistened during the interview, Geeta appeared calm and confident, expressing no doubt that her family had been found.
She even showed off the clothes she plans to wear for the Hindu festival of Diwali in India next month: a scarlet blouse and turquoise ghagra, or long skirt, heavily embroidered.
But questions remain. The unnamed family she has identified say that the daughter they lost was married and had a baby when she disappeared – but Geeta is believed to have only been around 11 or 12 when she was found by Pakistani police.
“She is quite sure about her father and brothers, but she will take a DNA test in India before she is handed over to the family,” said Bilqees Edhi, matriarch of the Edhi family, who fostered Geeta at the foundation’s centre for hundreds of abandoned and orphaned children in Karachi.
