Waliullah Marof
Hamida Banu at her residence in Karachi in 2022
An Indian woman who says she was trafficked to Pakistan more than two decades ago has finally returned home, 18 months after her grandson spotted her in a YouTube video.
Hamida Banu said she had spent the past 22 years “like a living corpse”, trapped in the neighboring country and unable to contact her family.
Ms Banu was induced to move to Pakistan after accepting what was supposed to be a job in Dubai in 2002.
India and Pakistan – which share frosty bilateral relations – carried out extensive checks on his identity before his Indian citizenship was confirmed in October.
“I was taken to Pakistan by deception promising Dubai. I tolerated (the separation) for 23 years,” the 75-year-old told reporters after crossing the land border into India.
In 2002, Ms Banu supported her four children financially after the death of her husband by working as a cook in Qatar, Dubai and Saudi Arabia.
She was approached by a recruitment agent who told her she could help her find a job in Dubai. The officer asked him to pay 20,000 rupees ($250; £200).
But, as Ms. Banu recalled in her 2022 video interview, instead of Dubai, she was taken to the city of Hyderabad in Pakistan and held in a house for three months.
She later married a street vendor from Karachi, who died during the Covid-19 pandemic. She told BBC Punjabi that her husband never bothered her.
His story made headlines in July 2022 after Indian journalist Khalfan Shaikh watched the YouTube interview done by Pakistani social media activist Waliullah Maroof and shared it on his platform.
Aman Sheikh
Ms Banu said she was happy to be back with her children and siblings.
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? Did you recognize me? Where have you been all these years?” Ms Banu's daughter Yasmin was seen asking during the video call.
“Don't ask me where I was and how I was. 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 it would reach India,” she said. “But the Indian embassy called me a year ago to tell me you could come 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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