Pak plane crash survivor has Amroha connection
MEERUT : President of Bank of Punjab, Zafar Masud, who survived the Pakistan Internationa Airlines (PIA) plane crash on Friday, has roots in western Uttar Pradesh’s Amroha district as he belongs to the family of Kamal Amrohi of “Pakeezah” fame. Masud was one of the two survivors of the plane crash in Karachi, Pakistan.
Masud, who was onboard the flight that crashed near the Karachi airport leaving over 90 people dead, escaped with injuries on his hip and collar bone.
The miraculous escape of Masud was like a ‘gift of Allah’ to his family members in Pakistan and Amroha. Masud’s family belongs to Saddo Mohalla in Amroha.
His distant relative Adil Zaffar said Masud’s family migrated to Pakistan in 1952. Adil, who is documentary film maker, is the first cousin of his mother Sehnaz Saeed. Adil said that he met Masud in 2015 in Karachi and he is very fond of India and wanted to visit Amroha to see his ancestral home.
Masud’s mother is directly related to Kamal Amrohi as his maternal grandfather Taqi Amrohi, who was a journalist in Pakistan, was the “Pakeezah” filmmaker’s cousin.
Aadil, who lives in Amroha, said, “Masud’s miraculous escape was like gift of Allah to families on both sides ahead of Eid. I informed the family members immediately after the crash and all were traumatised and shaken because Masud was also travelling in the same plane. The crash was devastating, which claimed lives of over 97 passengers, and then came the news of two survi
vors and one of them was Masud.”
Raza said that he had spoken to family members at least thrice since Friday. “At present, Masud is under treatment and family members have shared his photograph to their cross boarder relatives,” he said.
Tajdar Amrohi, son of Kamaal Amrohi, also expressed his happiness over miraculous escape of Masud and sent his condolences for those who were killed in the crash. “It was indeed the mercy of god who blessed him with life out of such a devastating crash,” said Tajdar.
Aadil Zaffar said that Kamaal Amrohi had two cousins Raees Amrohi and Taqi Amrohi. Taqi was chief editor of Pakistan’s leading Unrdu daily ‘ Jung’ and Zafar Masud is son of his daughter, Sehnaz Saeed. Masud’s grandfather Masood Hasan was a lawyer and his father Munawwar Sayeed was a popular TV artist of Pakistan.
Sehnaz visited her native town Amroha last time in 2014 and stayed here for over a month during Moharram. Adil Zaffar had also visited the family in Karachi in 2012, 2014 and 2015 and thereafter relations between the both countries soured and family members from both sides stopped visiting.
The families are descendent of saint Syeed Hussain Sarfuddin Shah Vilayat whose ‘Dargah’ is