Wrong turn: Girl boards wrong train, ends up in the Punjab

Sakina claims her father sent her to Sehwan Sharif all alone.

GUJRANWALA: A 12-year-old girl was separated from her parents when she accidentally boarded the wrong train at Sehwan Sharif and ended up in Hazifabad, Punjab.

Sakina claimed that she was taking the train back to Karachi from Sehwan Sharif when she boarded the wrong train. When she did not see any sign for the Karachi railway station, she stepped out and found herself in Jharian village.

The station’s gatekeeper, Muhammad Asif, found her after she spent the entire night in the open air. He took her home and gave her food but since Sakina only spoke Sindhi, he could not communicate with her.

The next morning, Asif took her to the village police station where the Express News team helped him out. They called their Sukkur bureau chief Liaqat Laghari to speak to Sakina and find out where she came from.

The girl revealed her name and said she lived near the railway station in Karachi. She said her father’s name was Ghulam Mustafa and he ran a tailoring shop with her brother, Muhammad Arif.

Sakina claimed her father lent her money and sent her to visit the Lal Shahbaz Qalander shrine in Sehwan Sharif. She was coming back from the shrine when she got lost.

The girl was sent to the Darul Aman, where she will stay until her parents are located.

Laghari added, however, that the girl is very confused. He found it hard to believe that her father sent her to Sehwan alone even though she is just 12.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 27^th, 2010.