Hope India will release 459 Pakistani prisoners after Geeta's return, says diplomat

New Delhi: Pakistan on Monday appealed to India to release 459 Pakistani prisoners currently in Indian jails after Geeta, the speech and hearing-impaired Indian woman living in Pakistan after accidentally crossing the border over a decade ago, arrived from Karachi.

"We have handed over Geeta to India and I hope that India will also release 459 Pakistani prisoners. Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit will host a reception to Geeta in the evening today and we will be there," the Media head of Pakistan High Commission, Manzoor Memon, told the media here.

Geeta arrived in New Delhi on Monday and was welcomed by the Indian officials, Pakistan diplomats and her kin to much fanfare. Escorted by five members of the Edhi Foundation, Geeta was greeted by a multitude of people.

Manzoor Ali Memon, Media head of Pakistan High Commission, and Ayesha Ahsan, Political Counsellor at the Pakistan High Commission, received Geeta on behalf of the Pakistan High Commission.

"A daughter returns home. Geeta arrives in New Delhi accompanied by members of Edhi Foundation," Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted on her arrival.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will brief the media at 3 p.m. on Monday with details about Geeta's arrival. Pakistan's High Commissioner Abdul Basit will host Geeta and the Edhi delegation this evening.

She will be handed over to her real parents only after the DNA test. The Ministry of External Affairs has said that if the DNA does not match then she will be accommodated at either of the two identified institutions in Delhi and Indore.

Geeta was reportedly just seven or eight years old when she was found sitting alone on the Samjhauta Express by the Pakistan Rangers 15 years ago at the Lahore railway station. The police then took her to the Edhi Foundation in Lahore and later she was shifted to Karachi.