The two brothers, Sikka Khan, age 76 and Siddiq Khan, aged 84, were separated during Partition in 1947. After their father was killed in the violence, Siddiq and his sister moved to Pakistan, while Sikka, 6 months old at the time, stayed in India with his mother. Although his family is Muslim, Sikka was raised by a local family of Sikhs after his mother died soon after.
The duo reconnected at Kartarpur Cooridor in January of this year, after Pakistani YouTuber Nasir Dhillion and his team helped the two brothers find each other via social media. Following the heartfelt meeting, in which both brothers embraced in tears, the Pakistan government granted Sikka a two-month visa to visit his elder brother. Due to various delays, including Covid-19 restrictions, he was unable to avail the visa until this month.
Sikka, who never married, crossed the Wagha border on Saturday to a warm welcome from his brother's family and grandchildren. From there, the extended family travelled to their village, Chak 255-RB Borgan, near Faisalabad, where they were again welcomed with flowers, song and dance from residents of the village, as reported in Dawn.
The two brothers made international headlines when the heart-warming video of their reunion in the Kartarpur Corridor was widely shared on the internet and led to efforts to allow them to meet, even at a time when political and military tensions have made travel between India and Pakistan very difficult.