Indian Sikh man separated from his family during Partition meets his Pakistani Muslim sister in Kartarpur

International

pti-PTI

Islamabad,
Sep
10:
Jalandhar-based
Sikh
man
Amarjit
Singh’s
happiness
knew
no
bounds
when
he
met
his
Muslim
sister
from
Pakistan
at
Gurdwara
Darbar
Sahib
in
Kartarpur,
75
years
after
he
was
separated
from
his
family
at
the
time
of
Partition.

Singh
was
left
out
in
India
along
with
his
sister
while
his
Muslim
parents
migrated
to
Pakistan
at
the
time
of
Partition.
All
eyes
went
teary
as
wheelchair-bound
Singh
had
an
emotional
meeting
with
his
sister
Kulsoom
Akhtar
at
Gurdwara
Darbar
Sahib
in
Kartarpur
in
Pakistan’s
Punjab
province
on
Wednesday.

Singh
arrived
in
Pakistan
via
the
Wagah
border
with
a
visa
to
meet
his
sister,
The
Express
Tribune
newspaper
reported.
Kulsoom,
65,
could
not
control
her
emotions
after
seeing
Singh.
Both
hugged
each
other
and
kept
crying.
She
had
travelled
from
her
hometown
in
Faisalabad
along
with
her
son
Shahzad
Ahmed
and
other
family
members
to
meet
her
brother.

Talking
to
the
newspaper,
Kulsoom
said
that
her
parents
migrated
to
Pakistan
from
a
suburb
in
Jalandhar
in
1947,
leaving
behind
her
brother
and
a
sister.
Kulsoom
said
she
was
born
in
Pakistan
and
used
to
hear
about
her
lost
brother
and
sister
from
her
mother.
She
said
that
her
mother
used
to
cry
whenever
she
remembered
her
missing
children.

She
said
that
she
did
not
expect
that
she
would
ever
be
able
to
meet
her
brother
and
sister.
However,
a
few
years
ago,
a
friend
of
her
father
Sardar
Dara
Singh
came
to
Pakistan
from
India
and
also
met
her.
Her
mother
told
Sardar
Dara
Singh
about
her
son
and
the
daughter
she
left
behind
in
India.
She
also
told
him
the
name
of
their
village
and
the
location
of
their
house.

Sardar
Dara
Singh
then
visited
her
house
in
Padawan
village
and
informed
her
that
her
son
was
alive
but
her
daughter
was
dead.
Her
son
was
named
Amarjit
Singh
who
was
adopted
by
a
Sikh
family
in
1947.

After
getting
the
brother’s
information,
Kulsoom
connected
with
Singh
on
WhatsApp
and
later
decided
to
meet.
Kulsoom,
despite
her
severe
back
pain,
mustered
the
courage
to
travel
to
Kartarpur
just
to
meet
her
brother.
Singh
said
that
when
he
first
learned
that
his
real
parents
were
in
Pakistan
and
were
Muslims,
it
was
a
shock
to
him.
However,
he
comforted
his
heart
that
many
families
were
separated
from
each
other
in
addition
to
his
own
family.

He
said
that
he
always
wanted
to
meet
his
real
sister
and
brothers.
He
said
that
he
is
happy
to
know
that
three
of
his
brothers
are
alive.
However,
one
brother,
who
was
in
Germany,
passed
away.
He
said
he
will
now
come
to
Pakistan
to
spend
time
with
his
family.
He
also
said
that
he
also
wants
to
take
his
family
to
India
as
well
so
that
they
could
meet
their
Sikh
family.

Both
the
siblings
had
brought
many
gifts
for
each
other.
Shahzad
Ahmad,
son
of
Kulsoom,
said
that
he
used
to
hear
about
his
uncle
from
his
grandmother
and
mother.
He
said
that
all
of
the
siblings
were
very
young
at
the
time
of
Partition.

“I
understand
that
since
my
uncle
was
brought
up
by
a
Sikh
family,
he
happens
to
be
a
Sikh,
and
my
family
and
I
have
no
problem
with
this,”
he
added.
Shahzad
said
that
he
is
happy
that
even
after
75
years
his
mother
has
found
her
lost
brother,
The
Express
Tribune
quoted
him
as
saying.
This
is
the
second
time
that
the
Kartarpur
Corridor
has
reunited
a
family.
In
May,
a
woman
born
in
a
Sikh
family
who
was
adopted
and
raised
by
a
Muslim
couple
met
her
brothers
from
India
at
Kartarpur.