Pakistan issues visa to Indian man separated from brother during Partition

The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi has issued a visa to Sika Khan to visit his brother Muhammed Siddique and other family members in Pakistan.

The two brothers separated in 1947 were recently reunited after 74 years at Kartarpur Corridor.

Siddique, 80, a resident of Bogra on the outskirts of Faisalabad, met his brother who got separated during the Partition.

According to him, two days before the independence of Pakistan, his mother went to visit his parents in Indian Punjab with his younger brother Habib who was only a few months old.

After the Partition, Siddique kept waiting for his mother to return but she didn't. But now, after 74 years, he finally reunited with his younger brother Habib, who later on got the name of Sika Khan.

A short video clip, which went viral on social media, showed that the two brothers burst into tears as soon as they saw each other at Kartarpur.

Habib said that the corridor provided an opportunity for him to meet his brother. The meeting was arranged by an NGO called "Punjabi Lehar" which has already become a means of reuniting many family and friends who had separated from each other in 1947.

Also read: Brothers separated during Partition reunite at Kartarpur

Representatives of the NGO said that the friends in Indian Punjab were very helpful in finding Siddique's brother.

It had shared videos of Siddique a while ago after which those who knew him in Indian Punjab contacted him and finally the two brothers reunited at the corridor.

“The story of the two brothers is a powerful illustration of how the historic opening of the visa-free Kartarpur Sahib Corridor in November 2019 by Pakistan is bringing people closer to each other,” the Pakistan embassy in a statement said.

Sika Khan also met Charge d’Affaires Aftab (CDA) Hasan Khan and interacted with the mission's officers in the Indian capital.

“He appreciated his interaction and thanked the CDA for the cooperation extended to him.”