Missing Indian woman found in Pakistan returns home

An Indian woman who says she was trafficked to Pakistan more than two decades ago has finally returned home – 18 months after her grandson discovered her in a YouTube video.

Hamida Banu said she had spent the last 22 years “as a living corpse,” trapped in a neighboring country and without contact with her family.

Ms Banu was tricked into going to Pakistan after taking a job in Dubai in 2002.

Both India and Pakistan – both of which have a frosty bilateral relationship – conducted extensive identity checks before confirming her Indian citizenship in October.

“I was fraudulently brought to Pakistan by promising Dubai. I tolerated (the separation) for 23 years,” the 75-year-old told reporters after crossing into India at a land border.

Back in 2002, Ms. Banu supported her four children financially after her husband’s death by working as a cook in Qatar, Dubai and Saudi Arabia.

A recruiter approached her and said she could help her find a job in Dubai. The agent asked her to pay 20,000 rupees ($250; £200).

But as Ms. Banu recalled in her video interview in 2022, instead of Dubai, she was taken to the Pakistani city of Hyderabad and held in a house there for three months.

She later married a street vendor in Karachi who died during the Covid-19 pandemic. She told BBC Punjabi that her husband never harassed her.

Her story made headlines in July 2022 after Indian journalist Khalfan Shaikh happened to see Pakistani social media activist Waliullah Maroof’s YouTube interview and shared it on his platform.

It reached Ms Banu’s family in India when her grandson – whom she had never met – saw it.

Mr Shaikh and Mr Maroof then arranged a call between Ms Banu and her Indian family.

“How are you doing? Did you recognize me? Where have you been all these years?” Ms Banu’s daughter Yasmin was seen asking in the video call.

“Don’t ask me where I’ve been or how I’ve been. I missed you all so much. I didn’t stay here voluntarily, I had no other choice,” Ms Banu replied.

After reaching India on Monday, Ms. Banu recalled the 2022 video that helped her reconnect with her family after years.

“My video was shared two years ago. I wasn’t sure if I would reach India,” she said. “But the Indian embassy called me a year ago and said you could go back.”

Speaking to BBC Punjabi, Ms Banu said she was happy to be back with her children and siblings. “I have brothers, sisters and children there (in India), but I don’t want to be a burden to anyone.”

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