Many keep their talk to minimum with Pak kin

Seventy years ago, several families left Hyderabad for Pakistan in the midst of Partition, leaving their relatives behind. Though separated by time, their relationships have persisted, albeit under the veil of fear.

Mr Aziz Khan, a retired government employee from Chanchalguda, said letters and, later, phone calls, served to diminish the distance with his few relatives who moved to Pakistan. Over the past few years, the frequency of their communication has declined drastically. “With Pakistan being in the news for the wrong reasons most of the time, we contact them only if necessary. We don’t want to take chances,” Mr Khan said.

He recalled their departure to the neighbouring nation. “Our elders told us that they had left Hyderabad along with a few other friends and relatives. Rumours that Muslims would not be allowed to live in India drove them away,” he says.

In Falaknuma, Mr Syed Amjad Hussain lives along with his family of three. A few of his closest relatives live in Karachi. “They have stopped coming to India over the past few years. We also prefer not to go to Pakistan due to visa and safety issues. We meet them whenever they are in West Asia,” he said.

Mr Mohd Saleemuddin, a resident of Jahanuma in the Old City, said Mohammed Abdul Burhan, a friend of his father’s and a resident of Rawalpindi, would occasionally visit him until 2008. “He stayed with us after the death of my father. But now, Burhan has stopped coming. I last contacted him over the phone in 2010. I stopped calling out of fear of police surveillance,” Mr Saleem said. He recalled that Mr Burhan visited the Yousufain dargah during his last trip here.

Despite the strained relationship between the two countries, a few people still get their daughters married to the sons of friends and relatives in Pakistan. Ms Shaista Begum of Misrigunj had her daughter Maimoona Begum married to a relative in Pakistan. “The marriage was performed 10 years ago. I am in touch with her over the phone. We only answer calls from one particular number which my daughter uses,” she said. Ms Begum will soon be leaving for Pakistan to meet her daughter.

According to an official of the special branch of the city police, there are nearly 230 Pakistani nationals living in the city on long-term visas, as well as a few on short-term visas. “Every month around 12 persons come from Pakistan to visit their relatives here, and an equal number go from here to their country,” said Special Branch Additional DCP K. Goverdhan Reddy.