Help Locate a Mother’s Children
By Nasim Hassan
Delaware, USA
A few years ago I wrote an article about the Partition of India and a gentleman, Romy Singh, read it.
I received a request from Romy about his step-mother who lives in Virginia Beach in USA. She needs help in locating her five kids in Pakistan. Here is what her son told me:
“My name is Harbhajan Kaur. I am now 82 years old. My father Sher Singh was a landlord in Raja Sansi town near Amritsar. I was married to a Sardar Harbil Singh in Lahore in 1946. In 1947, while migrating from Lahore to Amritsar our truck was attacked and the mobsters killed everyone except the girls. I was one of the surviving girls.
“After changing hands, a person named Afzal Khan married me and renamed me Shahnaz Begum. Afzal Khan was 16 years older than me. After marrying Afzal Khan I moved to Karachi and we had five children. The name of the kids are: Khurshid, Zubeda, Jamila, Bala and Rizwan.Afzal Khan lived in Kola Godaam ( Coal Depot) area of Karachi. He was in cosmetic business.
“In 1962 the visa restrictions were relaxed and I decided to visit Raja Sansi. The two people who helped me were: Bashir Ahmed and Zahoor Ahmed in Akbari Mandi Lahore. In fact their mother-in-law was like a God mother to me.
“So I proceeded with my husband Afzal Khan to Raja Sansi (Amritsar area) with my three children. The youngest one Rizwan, born in 1960, was two years old.
“In Raja Sansi, my parent did not allow meto go back to Pakistan but my husband Afzal Khan and children were sent back to Pakistan.
“In 1969, I was married to a Sardar whose wife had died and needed someone to take care of his son Romy Singh who was five years. Romy Singh migrated to the USA in 1989. After Romy established business he invited me and my husband and we moved to the USA in 1997. My husband passed away in 2007.
“Although I never revealed the story to my son Romy Singh but he found out from other sources. I am now 82 years old and Romy asked me if I wanted to contact my kids in Pakistan. Now they must have grown up and God knows where they live at this time."
Please let me know if anyone can help in locating her five kids in Pakistan.
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