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Geeta Diplomacy: India ready to return Pakistan’s Ramzan

NEW DELHI/KARACHI: Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj on Saturday said that India is ready to send runaway boy Ramzan back to Pakistan.In a series of tweets from her official account, Swaraj maintained that if Pakistan is ready to accept Ramzan, a 15 year old who entered India through Bangladesh, Indian authorities will send him back to his mother in Karachi. The Indian Minister further said that Indian High Commissioner, T.C.A Raghavan met Ramzan’s mother in Karachi on November 3 and assured her of a visa, if she wants to meet her son in Bhopal.

On November 2, Swaraj, after the return of hearing and speech impaired Indian girl Geeta, had tweeted that Indian government will resolve Ramzan and Salman’s cases shortly.

According to a Dawn newspaper report, High Commissioner, T.C.A. Raghavan on November 3, met Razia Sattar, mother of Ramzan, at a hotel in Karachi and assured the lady that a visa to visit her son would be issued as soon as she arranged a passport.

Related: Indian envoy assures woman of helping her to meet son in Bhopal

Ramzan’s mother Razia, 32, told Dawn newpaper that back in 2004, her husband left her and went to Bangladesh where he remarried.

A year later, the man returned and and asked Razia to allow their children – Daughter Zohra and Ramzan – to attend his niece’s wedding in Dhaka.

But when the children didn’t get back even after a month she inquired with her husband’s family in Karachi. “They had no idea. I created a ruckus and soon both the children were back,” she said.

Then in 2008, Ramzan, according to Razia, was kidnapped from outside their home in Gulshan-i-Iqbal by his father and taken to Bangladesh again.

“But Ramzan couldn’t stay with them either. I am told that he was helped by a dealer to cross the border between Bangladesh and India, and ended in Bhopal,” she added.

After her meeting with the Indian high commissioner, Razia said, “He assured me that I can go to India and that the officials here would cooperate with me in the similar way Pakistan cooperated with India in getting Geeta back. I’m looking forward to meeting my son and to bring him back home.”

Geeta’s Tale
Found on a train that had crossed the border from India into the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, hearing and speech impaired Indian girl Geeta remained in Pakistan under the care of the country’s largest welfare organisation, the Edhi Foundation in Karachi for more than a decade.

After identifying a family as her own through a picture sent by Indian officials, Geeta finally returned to India on Monday with the head of Edhi Foundation, Mr Abdul Sattar Edhi’s wife.

But in a tragic twist, just hours after arriving in Delhi, she told officials she did not know the family. Sushma Swaraj then vowed to find her parents after a DNA test.

Grateful at Geeta’s return, Indian Prime Minister Narendra had pledged to donate 10 million Indian rupees to Edhi foundation, which the celebrated humanitarian declined.

Related: Geeta returns home, but fails to find family

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