Indian Woman Reunites With Family 22 Years After Being Trafficked To Pakistan

An Indian woman who claims she was trafficked to Pakistan over two decades ago has finally reunited with her family, 18 months after her grandson identified her in a YouTube video.

Hamida Banu, now 75, described the past 22 years as living “like a corpse,” trapped in Pakistan and unable to reach her loved ones. She was lured to Pakistan in 2002 under the false promise of a job in Dubai.

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Extensive identity verification by both India and Pakistan, which have strained bilateral relations, confirmed her Indian nationality in October, enabling her return.

“I was deceitfully taken to Pakistan under the pretence of going to Dubai. I endured this separation for 23 years,” Ms. Banu said upon crossing into India via a land border.

Back in 2002, Ms. Banu was a widow supporting her four children by working as a cook in the Gulf region. A recruitment agent promised her a job in Dubai in exchange for 20,000 rupees ($250). Instead, she was taken to Hyderabad, Pakistan, where she was confined to a house for three months.

Later, she married a street vendor in Karachi, who passed away during the Covid-19 pandemic. Speaking to BBC Punjabi, Ms. Banu said her late husband treated her well during their time together.

Her ordeal came to light in July 2022 when a YouTube interview by Pakistani social media activist Waliullah Maroof caught the attention of Indian journalist Khalfan Shaikh. The video was shared widely and eventually reached her family in India after her grandson, whom she had never met, recognized her.

Mr. Shaikh and Mr. Maroof facilitated a call between Ms. Banu and her family, setting in motion the process that led to her return home.

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

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

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After she reached India on Monday, Ms Banu recalled the 2022 video that helped her connect with her family after years.

“My video was shared two years ago. I was not sure if I would reach India,” she said. “But the Indian embassy called me one year ago, saying you can go back.”

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

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