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Geeta,
23, center, a deaf and mute Indian woman who accidentally strayed into Pakistan
as a child 12 years ago arrives at the airport in New Delhi, India, Monday,
Oct. 26, 2015. She was greeted at the airport by scores of well-wishers as she
arrived in a Pakistan International Airlines flight from Karachi hoping to be
reunited with her family. (AP Photo /Tsering Topgyal)
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A deaf and mute Indian
woman who accidentally strayed into Pakistan as a child 12 years ago arrived in
New Delhi on Monday hoping to be reunited with her family, beaming as she was
greeted at the airport by scores of well-wishers. Wearing a red tunic, her
head loosely covered with a matching stole, Geeta, now 23, waved to the
schoolchildren and others who had gathered to see her after her arrival. She
was carrying a big bouquet of flowers given to her by officials from India's
Ministry of External Affairs.
Associated Press report continues:
Geeta,
who goes by one name, was accompanied on the Pakistan International Airlines
flight from Karachi by officials from the Edhi Foundation, the Pakistani
charity that has cared for her since she was handed over by authorities after
she accidentally crossed into the country in 2003.
"About
two weeks ago, Geeta identified her family after seeing some pictures provided
to us by Indian diplomats," the charity's spokesman, Faisal Edhi, told The
Associated Press in Islamabad. "She was very happy over it."
In
addition to the family in the pictures that Geeta identified, Indian media have
reported that another man is claiming to be Geeta's father.
In
New Delhi, Geeta will undergo two sets of DNA tests to ensure that she is
reunited with her own parents, said Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma
Swaraj.
The government has also
identified two welfare homes for people with disabilities, and Geeta could be
sent to one of them if the DNA tests are not conclusive, Swaraj said.
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