This heartbreaking story began 17 years ago on a street in Sector G-10 of Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad. Ten-year-old Kiran had ventured out from her home during a rainstorm to buy ice cream. While she got her ice cream that day, her childhood and her parents slipped far beyond her reach. Kiran hails from a small village in Kasur district of Pakistan’s Punjab province. She spent many springs of her life away from her parents, siblings, and relatives at the Edhi Center in Karachi.
Multiple attempts were made to locate Kiran’s parents and siblings over the years, but all efforts proved unsuccessful.
Even Kiran’s own parents and siblings had seemingly lost hope of her return.
How Kiran reunited with her parents
Kiran’s father Abdul Majeed and other family members declined to discuss details, but an elderly family associate named Asad Munir shared extensive information about the case.
Asad Munir is Kiran’s paternal uncle. He resides in village Bagri in Kasur district.
He explains: “Seventeen years ago when Kiran was just 10 years old, she was staying at my sister’s house her aunt’s residence in Islamabad’s G-10 area. Directly across from the house is the G-10 center, where she had gone to get ice cream. This was in 2008. Heavy rain was falling at the time.”
According to Asad Munir, when Kiran failed to return home after an extended period, searches were conducted but she could not be found.
“At that time, we looked for her everywhere and in every corner, but there was no trace of Kiran.”
Kiran recounts that she had left home to purchase ice cream but lost her way in the heavy downpour.
She says she wandered the streets for a considerable time searching for her house, but when she couldn’t locate it, someone took her to Edhi Center, Islamabad.
Kiran explained: “Initially I was kept at Edhi Center, Islamabad, but after some time Bilquis Edhi brought me to Edhi Center, Karachi, where I remained for 17 years.”
Shabana Faisal from Edhi Center, Karachi, stated that Kiran arrived at the Islamabad Edhi Center 17 years ago. She mentioned that someone had left her at the Edhi Center, likely because she had lost her way.
She notes: “She stayed at Edhi Center, Islamabad for some time. During this period, Bilquis Edhi visited the Islamabad Edhi Center, where she observed that Kiran’s health was not stable, so she brought her to Edhi Center, Karachi.”
Shabana Faisal revealed that recently a team from ‘Mera Pyara’ (My Dear One), connected to Punjab Police’s Safe City Project, visited Edhi Center, Karachi. They interviewed Kiran and took on the mission of locating her relatives.
Kiran’s interview helped trace her home
Sidra Ikram serves as Senior Police Communication Officer for the ‘Mera Pyara’ program in Lahore. She explains that ‘Mera Pyara’ is a project launched under Punjab Police’s Safe City Program, aimed at reuniting separated children with their relatives.
This project was initiated one year ago. She claims that under this project, 51,000 children have been reunited with their parents so far.
Sidra Ikram stated that digital tools as well as police sources are utilized for this purpose.
She shared: “Our teams interview children at various institutions where abandoned children are housed, and then using information gathered from those interviews, we search for the child’s relatives.”
She noted that the same approach was used in Kiran’s case.
Sidra Ikram explained: “One of our teams visited Edhi Center Karachi, where they interviewed Kiran along with other abandoned individuals and collected information.”
“Kiran didn’t remember much. She was actually from Kasur district. She had been living with relatives in Islamabad.”
Sidra Ikram mentioned that Kiran remembered her father’s name, Abdul Majeed, and also recalled her village name.
“We provided this information to our Kasur office and requested assistance in searching for Kiran’s relatives.”
Mubasshir Fayyaz serves as Police Communication Officer in Kasur. He explains that when Kiran’s information reached them, it included her village name and father’s name, which proved helpful.
“Found her parents in just one day”
Mubasshir Fayyaz says: “First, we contacted the area’s numberdar” (village headman) “and older residents of the area. When we inquired about Abdul Majeed, we learned there were several Abdul Majeeds in that area. We showed childhood photos of Kiran to some people, but they couldn’t identify her.”
He noted that contacting so many people named Abdul Majeed wasn’t feasible.
In some cases, veteran police officers and constables from police stations and outposts prove extremely helpful.
According to him: “In this case too, when we contacted veteran officers from the area’s outpost, one of them mentioned that years ago, a girl named Kiran had gone missing and extensive searches had been conducted for her.”
Mubasshir Fayyaz states that the officer “told us that a report had been filed about this matter.”
“This way, that officer helped us reach Kiran’s area, where we made announcements at mosques. We met with older residents there. From there we learned that one Abdul Majeed’s daughter had gone missing 17 years ago.”
He added: “Our entire day’s efforts were paying off and we were getting close to Abdul Majeed. When we reached his area, many people’s memories of Kiran’s disappearance were refreshed, and they directed us to Abdul Majeed’s house.”
“The father’s tears wouldn’t stop”
Mubasshir Fayyaz recounts that they showed Abdul Majeed photographs of his daughter, including childhood pictures.
“He showed us a family group photo and also presented Form-B, which contained Kiran’s essential information.”
Form B is also known as the Child Registration Certificate in Pakistan.
He stated there was no doubt remaining that this Abdul Majeed was indeed Kiran’s father. Following this, a video call took place—father, daughter, and other relatives spoke with Kiran, and then they traveled to Karachi.
After completing all legal procedures, Kiran was handed over to her father, and she returned home on November 25.
Kiran’s uncle Asad Munir, discussing his niece’s disappearance, says: “Kiran is Abdul Majeed’s eldest daughter. He now has five children including Kiran. But from the time she went missing until now, I have always seen tears in Abdul Majeed’s eyes.”
According to him: “Whenever he mentioned his daughter, he would wonder whether she was even alive. He would always talk about what condition his daughter might be in.”
He noted that the grief of losing his daughter had aged him prematurely.
He shared: “When Abdul Majeed identified his daughter, he told me first, and I saw that previously his eyes held tears of sorrow, and now they held tears of joy.”
Speaking with local media, Kiran said she felt immense happiness reuniting with her father and siblings. She mentioned that she returned home from Edhi Center having learned cooking skills, sewing techniques, and received education.
She stated: “Most importantly, they gave me courage to move forward during difficult times and strengthened my resolve.”
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