In a pleasant development, the Government of India has reportedly agreed to help a deaf-and-dumb young Indian woman, who has been in Pakistan for at least 15 years, unite with her family members.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj confirmed the development on Monday by tweeting that the Indian High Commission to Pakistan will meet the girl soon and try to help her.
“I have asked Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Dr TCA Raghavan to go to Karachi and meet this girl,” Swaraj tweeted.
EAM’s tweet was in response to a query made by renowned human rights activist and Pakistan’s ex-minister Ansar Burney in connection with the case earlier.
The development came in view of a fresh campaign launched by some Pakistani activists to unite the hearing and speech impaired Indian woman, who is now 23 years old and stranded in the neighbouring country for at least 15 years.
The renewed push to unite the woman with her parents comes to light soon after the success of Bollywood film ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’.
As per a report in the Express Tribune newspaper, the girl is believed to have crossed into Pak territory as a child.
The Pakistan Rangers brought her to the Lahore centre of social welfare group Eidhi foundation.
As per Faisal Eidhi of the foundation, all her efforts to locate her family or hometown have gone in vain.
First brought to an Edhi Centre in Lahore, the girl was shifted to the shelter in Karachi where Bilquis Edhi named her ‘Geeta’ and has become quite close to the girl.
Using her fingers and facial expression, Geeta says she has seven brothers and four sisters.
Human rights activist and former minister Ansar Burney, who has raised Geeta’s issue three years ago during a visit to India, is now running a Facebook campaign for her.
The foundation activists persuaded Geeta to begin a new life in Pakistan by getting married to a Hindu boy. In her sign language, she refused and made it clear that she will only get married once she returns home.
