Forty years apart: Siblings' reunion cut short by rising India-Pakistan tensions

When Saraswati Jagdish Kumar Soni landed in Karachi this April, her heart brimmed with anticipation. After forty long years, she was finally reuniting with her only brother, Anand Kumar Soni. But just as they were beginning to heal old wounds and bridge decades of separation, a fresh crisis struck.

Following the tragic Pahalgam attack, diplomatic tensions between India and Pakistan escalated sharply, forcing Saraswati to pack her bags and prepare for a sudden return to Mumbai — much earlier than planned.

"We cried so much when we first met," Saraswati said, her voice quivering. "I don't want to leave. But what can I do? I have to go."

Clad in a colorful sari, her forehead adorned with sindoor and a bright bindi, Saraswati sat at her brother's home — her face radiant with both happiness and sorrow. The reunion she had dreamed of for four decades was now painfully brief.

A brother’s long wait

Introducing Saraswati, Anand said with tears in his eyes, "This is my sister."

Anand, who has been largely confined to bed following four surgeries on his leg, shared how he and Saraswati were the only children of their parents. Saraswati, while still very young, had moved to India, where she got married. The ensuing years — filled with citizenship paperwork, family obligations, and the everyday trials of life — kept her away from Pakistan.

Anand Kumar Soni, emotional during an interview at his home in Karachi, Pakistan, describes reuniting with his sister after decades apart.Nukta

It was only when Anand’s health deteriorated significantly that the family in Karachi reached out. "My sister-in-law told me over the phone that life is uncertain — come see your brother once," Saraswati recalled. That emotional appeal broke the dam, and she resolved to make the journey at last.

When she arrived in Karachi, the emotions were overwhelming. Saraswati remembered, "My brother, who couldn’t walk properly for years, pushed himself to walk towards me — sixteen steps up the temple stairs — just to hug me. He said, ‘My mother has come.’"

Witnesses to their reunion described it as nothing short of miraculous.

"I had no strength left," Anand said. "But when I saw my sister, it felt like I got a new life."

Torn apart again

Saraswati had planned to stay in Karachi for three months. But the Pahalgam incident triggered a spike in cross-border tensions. Talk of visa restrictions and border closures left her with no choice but to cut her visit short.

"The borders might close any moment — on both sides," Anand said grimly. "Who knows when they'll open again?"

The siblings spent their nights wide awake — talking, reminiscing, and introducing Saraswati to visiting childhood friends who stayed for hours.

Smiling through tears, Anand joked, "Her friends would sit for hours and hours! I would be worried, and so would her husband!"

Reflecting on the passing of time, he said, "Forty years is a lifetime — an entire generation has grown up."

Moments in Karachi

During her stay, Saraswati visited iconic temples like the Ratneshwar Mahadev and Varun Dev temples, and enjoyed the seaside view. "But what I loved most," she said simply, "was just sitting with my brother and talking."

Saraswati Jagdish Kumar Soni smiles during a conversation at her brother’s home in Karachi, Pakistan, after reuniting with him following a separation of forty years.Nukta

Her voice softened as she thought about her looming departure. "It feels awful. Other sisters who traveled here to see their families must be feeling the same pain right now — having to leave so suddenly."

Holding back tears, Saraswati added, "I will miss my brother, my sister-in-law, the children... and when I am alone again, I know I’ll cry."

A hopeful promise

When asked if she would return, Saraswati’s face lit up with hope. "If the situation improves, I’ll definitely come again — and next time, I’ll stay for much longer."

Siblings Saraswati and Anand embrace in Karachi, Pakistan, overwhelmed with emotion as they face another sudden separation due to rising diplomatic tensions.Nukta

For now, their reunion — four decades in the making — must serve as a bittersweet memory, one both siblings will cling to until fate, and peace, allow another meeting.

But as political fires rage and borders harden, it is ordinary lives — the Saraswatis and Anands of the world — that pay the real price.