After the gruesome partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, separated siblings received a chance at a reunion on the 549th anniversary of Guru Nanak.
Image Courtesy: Express Tribune
Lahore: As politicians mulled over the impact of the Kartarpur corridor between India and Pakistan, emotions were running high across the border. After the gruesome partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, separated siblings received a chance at a reunion on the 549th anniversary of Guru Nanak.
Two Pakistani Muslim sisters, Ulfat Bibi and Mairaj Bibi reunited with their Indian Sikh brother Sardar Bayanth Singh after 71 years at Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib, Pakistan.
“The family was resident of Paracha village near Dera Baba Nanak Gurdaspur, India before the historic partition. However, in the partition a daughter and son went missing. The family later migrated to Pakistan leaving behind their two children. The mother, Allah Rakhhi, later contacted one of her former neighbours and learnt the whereabouts of her son Bayanth,” Express Tribune reported. The whereabouts of the fourth sibling, presumed to be a daughter, could not be accessed.
Bayanth has been in contact with his sisters over letters and phone calls ever since. He was able to plan a pilgrimage to the Nankana Sahib’s Gurdwara this year, where he had the opportunity to meet his sisters.
“Speaking to the media, Ulfat Bibi expressed the desire to be allowed to travel to India where she can meet her sister-in-law and nieces and nephews. Ulfat and Miraj have appealed Prime Minister Imran Khan to extend their brother’s visa if he cannot be granted Pakistan nationality,” the report said.
Pakistan and India are working together to open the Kartarpur Corridor, a pilgrim route to from India to Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan. It is the final resting place of Guru Nanak who spent the last 18 years of his life here. The cross-border pilgrim route is expected to help thousands of Sikh devotees to visit one of their most important religious places.
