Earlier this month, an Indian man had an emotional reunion with his Pakistani brother. They had a reunion after 74 years! This happened during a visit to Kartarpur gurdwara. And on Friday the Indian man was also granted a visa by Pakistan. This was now done so that he could meet his relatives across the border.
Sika Khan was just a toddler at the time he got separated from his elder brother. He got separated from Muhammed Siddique and other family members. This was because of the partition of the subcontinent into India and Pakistan. The partition happened in 1947. It was in 2019, both the brothers interacted. The two brothers made contact with each other through a video call. Well, all thanks to the popular Pakistan-based YouTube channel, Punjabi Lehar. The YouTube channel highlighted their story.
Earlier in this month, the same YouTube channel facilitated a meeting between them. They arranged the meeting of the brothers during a visit to the Kartarpur Gurdwara. Kartarpur Gurudwara is located in Pakistan’s Punjab province. The Indian nationals are able to visit the Sikh shrine without visas. They do this by traveling through a special cross-border corridor.
The video of the two brothers embracing each other went viral. They were also seen fighting back tears that caused waves on both sides of the border. Khan lives in Phulewala village at Bathinda in India’s Punjab state. Through this meeting, he realised that he had been then christened by Habib Khan at the time of his birth.
It was on Friday, the Pakistan high commission in New Delhi granted Khan a visa. They granted a visa to visit his brother and other family members residing across the border.
“Today, the Pakistan High Commission 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 Sahib Corridor. Sika Khan also met with CDA Aftab Hasan Khan and interacted with Mission’s officers. He appreciated his interaction and thanked the CDA for the cooperation extended to him,” the Pakistan High Commission to India tweeted.
“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 high commission mentioned in a tweet along with a photo of a happy-looking Khan.
“Sika Khan also met with CDA Aftab Hasan Khan and interacted with Mission’s officers. He appreciated his interaction and thanked the CDA for the cooperation extended to him,” Pakistan High Commission in India said.
Sika Khan met Pakistani chargé d’affaires Aftab Hasan Khan. He also met other officers of the high commission. He later thanked them for their cooperation.
Let’s know more about the YouTube channel Punjabi Lehar. Punjabi Lehar is run by Nasir Dhillon and Lovely Singh. It focuses on reuniting the families from the two sides of Punjab. This usually includes the families that got separated at the time of Partition. The partition resulted in the migration of almost 12 million people. There were more than 6.5 million from the the side of India. And around 5 million from the side of Pakistan.
Dhillon and Singh later learned about Siddique and his long-lost brother. They came to know this during a visit to Bogran village located in Faisalabad in 2019.
“Punjabi Lehar is endeavouring to bridge a gap between the people of East and West Punjab. The gap created by the partition of 1947,” is the message mentioned on the channel’s YouTube page.
“Most of the people have passed away with an unfulfilled ardent desire in their heart to see their birthplace and meet their childhood friends. Punjabi Lehar is attempting to fulfil the desire of remaining Partition-era Punjabis, who will be gone in the next five to seven years.”
