Geeta close to family reunion

ISLAMABAD: Indian authorities on Saturday appeared optimistic that Geeta, supposedly an Indian national, will finally reunite with her missing family, as at least four Indian families have claimed her as their daughter.
Geeta —a 22-year-old deaf and dumb girl — has caught the attention of the entire South Asia, as everyone has been following her story since it grabbed headlines in the Pakistani and Indian newspapers.The Punjab Rangers found her on the International Border about 14 years ago and handed her over to the Edhi Trust where Bilquis Edhi brought her up as her own daughter.
Again on Saturday, Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, herself a mother, approached the chief ministers of Punjab, Jharkhand, UP and Bihar and asked them to look into the claims of four families in these states that Geeta is their daughter.
“Geeta in Karachi – During last few days four families from Punjab, Bihar, Jharkhand and UP have claimed Geeta as their daughter,” Sushma said in a tweet.She urged the chief ministers of the said states to verify and report back.
“Geeta conveyed to the Indian High Commissioner by gestures that they are seven brothers and sisters,” Swaraj said.According to Swaraj, during her meeting with the Indian High Commissioner Geeta said she had visited a temple with her father and then wrote down “Vaishno Devi”.
Aman Ki Asha has also put up a Facebook account imploring anyone who has any knowledge of Geeta to come forth and identify her.Necessary formalities are being completed to bring Geeta back to India and Sushma Swaraj has appealed to her followers’ on Twitter to help locate Geeta’s family.
At the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, Ranjana, the wife of High Commissioner Dr TCA Raghavan, told The News that she was absolutely charmed to meet the young Geeta and was also happy that she had a chance to visit the Edhi Centre.
Ranjana was full of praise for the young children at the Centre and for the couple, Abdus Sattar Edhi and his wife Bilquis, who have devoted their life to serving the humanity.It was touching to see Ranjana give gifts to youngsters at the Centre. It needs to be mentioned that when Sushma Swaraj instructed her high commissioner to meet Geeta, she especially asked Ranjana to also accompany him.It takes a woman to understand the sensitivities of young Geeta who would be more comfortable to have an Indian woman interact with her.
According to Indian media reports, earlier a deaf-mute couple from Amritsar claimed that Geeta was their daughter. Now, a couple from India’s Pratapgarh district’s Dhamohan village of Uttar Pradesh, Ramraj and Anara Devi, have claimed Geeta is actually Savita who disappeared after she went for praying in Bihar 11 years ago.
“We have seen her pictures and seen news reports on television and are fully convinced that she is one of our six children who were last seen at the age of 9,” the couple said, according to Hindustan Times.
As in all such cases the world over, there are vested interests that would come forth to claim Geeta as their child. But modern medical technology and DNA testing will bring the truth as close as possible. For now Geeta has her hopes high and it would indeed be a happy ending if she is reunited and more important a victory for humanity which knows no borders.