From Pakistan To India: How A Viral Video Helped Reunite A Woman After 22 Years; Watch Video

Through Maroof`s vlog, Banu reconnected with her family. Her daughter Yasmeen even spoke to her by phone, rekindling a bond long thought lost.

Hamida Banu described her 22-year ordeal as feeling "like a corpse," stranded in a neighboring country with no way to contact her family. In 2002, she was tricked by a recruitment agent into traveling to Pakistan under the guise of a job opportunity in Dubai.

An Indian woman who had been living in Pakistan for 22 years after being deceitfully brought to Lahore by a travel agent finally returned to her homeland on Monday via the Wagah Border. Her return was made possible nearly 18 months after her grandson recognized her in a YouTube video. Originally from Mumbai, Banu had arrived in Hyderabad, Pakistan, in 2002. She revealed that the agent had lured her with the promise of a job in Dubai but instead trafficked her to the Hyderabad district in Sindh province.

Expressing her joy upon reuniting with her family, Banu admitted she had lost hope of ever returning to India but felt fortunate to witness this day.

How a YouTube Video Helped Reunite Her with Her Family

In 2022, Waliullah Maroof, a Pakistani YouTuber, shared Hamida Banu's story, recounting how she had left India in 2002 after being promised a job as a cook in Dubai. Instead, she was trafficked to Pakistan. The story gained significant attention in July 2022 when Indian journalist Khalfan Shaikh reposted Maroof’s interview with Banu on his platform.

The video eventually reached Banu’s family in India, where her grandson—whom she had never met—spotted it. Moved by the revelation, journalists Shaikh and Maroof facilitated a video call between Banu and her Indian relatives, reconnecting her with her long-lost family.

Watch Video Here

Hamida Banu’s Life in Pakistan and Second Marriage

During her time in Pakistan, Banu remarried. Her second husband, a man from Karachi, passed away due to Covid-19. Reportedly, she said that her late husband treated her well. Since his passing, she had been living with her stepson. Before coming to Pakistan, Banu had been the sole provider for her four children in India after her first husband's death, working as a cook in countries like Qatar, Dubai, and Saudi Arabia without incident.