It was an emotional moment for Bayanth Singh when he had a reunion with his two Muslim sisters for the first time in seven decades.
According to a report by the Express Tribune, the three siblings who originally hailed from a village near Dera Baba Nanak in the Gurdaspur district of Punjab got separated during the turbulence of partition.
While migrating to Pakistan, the family lost a son and daughter. The sisters, Ulfat Bibi and Mairaj Bibi, had managed to settle with the family in Pakistan. Bayanth Singh, however, couldn’t cross the border and remained in India.
Later his mother found out about his whereabouts through their former neighbour. Since then he has been in touch with his sisters through letters and phone calls.
This year, he planned a pilgrimage to the Nankana Sahib’s Gurdwara in Pakistan where to he got to meet his long lost sisters.
Speaking to the Express Tribune, Ulfat Bibi expressed her desire to be allowed to travel to India so that she could meet her sister-in-law and nieces and nephews. They have also appealed to the Pakistan PM to extend their brother’s visa.
Recently, India and Pakistan opened the Kartarpur border to facilitate the movement of pilgrims to Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan.