Onijah Andrew Robinson, the American woman who has been in Karachi ever since her Pakistani lover abandoned her after making false promises of marriage last year, has now returned to the US.

 

She reportedly landed in Karachi on October 11, 2024, while her visa was set to expire on November 10, but after her online paramour, 19-year-old Nidal Ahmed Memon, refused to marry her, instead of returning to the US, the 33-year-old chose to stay.

 

In January, she was taken into police custody after the Airport Security Force (ASF) stopped her as she tried to enter Karachi airport.

 

According to private media reports, Governor Sindh Kamran Tessori then intervened, and Onijah was issued a 15-day exit permit on January 27 while a welfare organisation booked an air ticket back home for her.

 

At the time of her return, however, she refused to leave and claimed she was being forced to return by the authorities.

 

She stayed at what she claimed to be her “friend’s house” in Karachi's Garden area until she was provided shelter by a welfare organisation.

 

In February, she was taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Karachi, with concerns for her mental health.

 

According to media sources, incoherence in speech and swelling in her hands and feet caused concerns. Admitted to the  Department of Psychiatry, reports of her detailed examination are due.

 

Jeremiah Andrew Robinson, Onijah’s son, revealed in a video statement earlier this week that his mother is mentally unwell and experiences cognitive hindrances. He stated that her claims and actions must be perceived and dealt with accordingly.

 

He also claimed that Onijah was supposed to return to the US two weeks after she arrived in Pakistan in October., and that he and his brother had bought a return ticket.

 

The 33-year-old US national’s criminal record shows that she was arrested in Charleston County in South Carolina in 2021, “ENTERING PREMISES AFTER WARNING”. It also revealed that a bail bond of $465 is possibly not paid.

 

On February 7, a medical board gave the green signal for her to travel, deeming her fit to go, after which the police escorted her to the airport. US Consulate staff also paid her a visit to the hospital, persuading her to go back to the US, and organised her flight.

 

While Onijah Robinson was in Pakistan, people around the world, especially in America, followed her story with zesty as her odyssey turned into a media storm. Foreign netizens shared how their perspective of Pakistanis changed upon witnessing the hospitality given to Onija and the patience people here showed towards her. Comparisons were drawn with the depiction of Pakistanis in Western media, which is often bleak and fearful.