A day after India announced financial reward for finding parents of Geeta, the aurally challenged girl, her former host organisation in Pakistan has offered to take her back. A representative of Karachi’s Edhi Foundation said the organisation would be happy to have Geeta back even as search continues for her parents who are believed to have lost her more than a dozen years ago.
“We have always maintained that Geeta will have a home in Edhi Foundation forever and she can return to us whenever she wishes. Mrs. Bilquis Edhi and rest of us will welcome her if she chooses to return to us any day,” said Anwar Kazmi, a senior official of the Edhi Foundation, speaking over telephone. The statement is indicative that the story of Geeta has not moved ahead since India brought her back from the Edhi Foundation in October 2015. Geeta came back after India promised to find her parents. The delay has caused Geeta hardship.
Video appeal
The latest episode on Geeta was opened by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj who issued a video appeal for finding the parents of the girl who has remained in the custody of a social organisation in Indore since her return. Ms. Swaraj in her appeal had urged people from Bihar and Jharkhand to step forward with information about her family. Mr. Kazmi also supported Ms. Swaraj’s argument and said Geeta seems to belong either to Bihar-Jharkhand or Odisha and attempts should be focussed in these States to find her family.
However, former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan TCA Raghavan, who met Geeta in Karachi during her stay at the Edhi Foundation, said the difficulties faced by Geeta were part of her process of adjusting to a new environment in India.
“I as the High Commissioner and other Indian officials met Geeta on a number of occasions and it was very clear that she wanted to return to India. We expected that there would be ups and downs in her adapting to a new environment in India especially since she had lived for years in Karachi under the care of the Edhis,” Mr. Raghavan said and explained finding her parents was unlikely to be a quick process. During her video appeal, Ms. Swaraj observed that Geeta has become restless and wants to be united with her parents at the earliest.