Close X
Saturday, November 23, 2024
ADVT 
India

President Calls Geeta 'Symbol Of India-Pakistan Unity'

Darpan News Desk IANS, 27 Oct, 2015 11:27 AM
    A day after returning to India from Pakistan where she was stranded for years, speech and hearing impaired Geeta met President Pranab Mukherjee -- who called her "a symbol of India-Pakistan unity" -- and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and took a ride on Delhi Metro.
     
    "You are the daughter of both our countries, a symbol of India-Pakistan unity. God has listened to your prayers," Mukherjee told the 23-year-old when she called on him at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
     
    A Rashtrapati Bhavan statement said Mukherjee blessed Geeta, a Hindu who strayed into Pakistan when she was around 11 years old in 2003. Pakistan Rangers promptly handed her over to the Edhi Foundation that took care of her since then.
     
    Unable to explain who she was and from where she came, Geeta began living in Pakistan, and grew from a teenager to a young adult.
     
    The president also thanked Bilquis Bano Edhi and the Edhi Foundation for their good work in Pakistan.
     
    Before meeting the president, Geeta met Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, who asked her about her life in Pakistan and how she strayed into that country.
     
    At both meetings, Geeta was accompanied by members of Edhi Foundation.
     
     
    Geeta, who interacted with everyone with the help of a facilitator, later took a ride on Delhi Metro, travelling from the Civil Lines station in the city's north to Patel Chowk station in the heart of the capital.
     
    At the Patel Chowk station, she was taken around the Delhi Metro museum.
     
    On Monday, Geeta flew into New Delhi on Pakistan International Airlines to begin a new life on her home soil.
     
    Among the first people she called on were External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who had taken a keen interest on her return, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
     
    Modi thanked Bilquis Edhi, wife of Karachi-based Edhi Foundation founder Abdul Sattar Edhi, for taking care of Geeta in Pakistan. He also announced a Rs.1 crore rupee donation for the foundation.
     
    On Tuesday, the NGO declined to accept the money.
     
    "Edhi has thanked Modi and politely declined to accept his announced financial help," the Dawn quoted Edhi Foundation spokesman Anwar Kazmi as saying.
     
     
    "What the Edhi family has done is too priceless to be measured but I am happy to announce a contribution of Rs.1 crore for their foundation," Modi had tweeted on Monday.
     
    Edhi Foundation is a social welfare organisation known for its extensive social work.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    India's Victory In 1965 War 'Indisputable': Indian Ministers

    India's Victory In 1965 War 'Indisputable': Indian Ministers
    Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said that the country's victory in the 1965 India-Pakistan war was "indisputable".

    India's Victory In 1965 War 'Indisputable': Indian Ministers

    Gujarat Ranked Best Indian State For Business By World Bank

    World Bank has ranked Gujarat as the top state in ease of doing business in India with a 71.14 percent score, followed by Andhra Pradesh (70.12 percent), Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh among the top five states.

    Gujarat Ranked Best Indian State For Business By World Bank

    Ramayana, Gita Not Religious Texts, Should Be Taught In Schools: Indian Culture Minister

    Ramayana, Gita Not Religious Texts, Should Be Taught In Schools: Indian Culture Minister
     Culture Minister Mahesh Sharmasaid that including the Ramayana and the Gita in school curriculum was an attempt to inculcate spiritual and cultural values in children

    Ramayana, Gita Not Religious Texts, Should Be Taught In Schools: Indian Culture Minister

    J&K: Photo of BJP MLA Crossing River On Policeman’s Back Goes Viral

    J&K: Photo of BJP MLA Crossing River On Policeman’s Back Goes Viral
    Justifying his action, the legislator said that the PSO has been employed by the government to help him. 

    J&K: Photo of BJP MLA Crossing River On Policeman’s Back Goes Viral

    Bomb Threat Call At Delhi Metro A Hoax

    Bomb Threat Call At Delhi Metro A Hoax
    Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel carried out a thorough check inside the Patel Nagar metro station and trains but found nothing.

    Bomb Threat Call At Delhi Metro A Hoax

    Madhya Pradesh Twin Blasts: 87 Killed In Jhabua, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Orders Probe

    Madhya Pradesh Twin Blasts: 87 Killed In Jhabua, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Orders Probe
    Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan ordered a judicial probe into the explosions after Home Minister Babulal Gaur, who visited the spot, briefed him about the situation.

    Madhya Pradesh Twin Blasts: 87 Killed In Jhabua, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Orders Probe