“Shabana, I love you”: Onijah Robinson on her special bond with Pakistani police officer

“I miss ya’ll Pakistan” – Onijah found her true team in Pakistan’s finest.

Onijah Andrew Robinson, the American woman who made global headlines after being stranded in Pakistan for four months, has now opened up about one of the most unexpected yet heartwarming parts of her journey — her deep friendship with Pakistani police officer, Shabana.

Onijah first arrived in Karachi with dreams of love, traveling thousands of miles to meet a man she had been speaking to online, only to be left abandoned at the airport by Nidal Ahmed Memon, a resident of the city’s Garden area.

Stranded and alone, her story captured international attention.

But amid the challenges she faced, a beautiful friendship blossomed — one that the world quickly fell in love with.

itting down with Haroon Rashid on BBC Asian Network, Onijah shared touching details about her bond with Shabana.

“She is very good. She is very funny. She’s always on her phone. We’ve got like similar personalities … Because in the mornings, we’d be a little fidgety. We were always doing something, but we’d make it on time to where we was going,” Onijah said, smiling.

The camaraderie between the two women wasn’t just heartwarming — it quickly went viral.

Videos and photos showing Onijah and Shabana together, especially during Onijah’s hospital stay, flooded social media. Their chemistry sparked adorable memes, and even inspired viral TikTok audios, making them beloved figures across continents.

Speaking warmly about her Pakistani friend, Onijah added:

“Shabana was the type of officer to give me love and compassion. And it was beautiful. She was a woman, add that too. It was a great experience, like, the love was crazy!”

When the interviewer mentioned how Onijah often referred to the officers as her “team,” she laughed and explained:

“I thought they were behind me on the camera, but I didn’t known that they were stepped to the side. It was a bunch of other officers there, also! It wasn’t just Shabana but Shabana and me grew together, ‘cause she is a woman like me.”

The bond was so genuine that it transcended duty. When asked about the funny videos they made together, especially while Onijah was in the hospital, her face lit up:

“Shabana is really a great person.”

Onijah didn’t stop there. Thinking about the future, she imagined how Shabana would fit into her own hometown.