US announces special awards to 16 govt officials for taking care of Onijah Andrew

KARACHI: The US Consul General in Karachi has announced special awards and certificates for sixteen Pakistani government officials for their exceptional care of American woman Onijah Andrew during her stay in the port city.

The government officers that will be awarded include employees of the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA), police and airport medical staff, and others.

According to sources, awards and prizes will be given to Director FIA Karachi Noman Siddiqui, Deputy Director Immigration Bahawal Dosto, Assistant Director Immigration Abdul Jabbar, Immigration Officers Ghulam Sarwar and Omar Daraz, Police Officers Shabana Jilani, Nosheen Akhtar, SHO Airport Kaleem Musa, Protocol Officers Syed Danish, Furqan Rahim, Sagheer Ahmed, Director Airport Security Force Ehsanullah, Executive Director of Airport Medical Staff Shahid Rasool, Joint Director Muhammad Suleman, Deputy Director Yahya Tanio and Dr. Chani Lal at a special ceremony.

A special event will be organized at the US Consulate in Karachi on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, by the US Consul General for their excellent care and kindness to the 33-year-old woman who had come to Pakistan to marry a boy she fell in love with on social media.

Earlier, Onijah Andrew Robinson had arrived in Karachi in October last year to meet 19-year-old Nidal Ahmed Memon, who she had befriended online.

However, the young man abandoned her after the rejection by his family and left the woman stranded in Karachi. Memon’s whereabouts remained unknown during Robinson’s stay in his country.

Robinson’s story came to light after JDC founder Zaffar Abbas shared it on social media, with Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori intervening to extend her expired visa and arrange a flight home.

She was stranded at Karachi Airport for a week due to the expiration of her tourist visa. The Sindh government and activist Zaffar Abbas arranged a visa for her, but, she refused to return to her country.

Refusing to return home, she spent nearly 30 hours outside Nidal’s apartment in Karachi’s Garden area before moving to a Chhipa welfare organization’s shelter. She was later admitted to the psychiatric ward at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) after her health deteriorated.