The Partition separated siblings Fazal Din and Sharifa in 1947, and a Sikh youth from India reunited them in 2018. Sharifa was 16 when she left for Pakistan in 1947, one month after her marriage.
The largest mass migration in human history happened soon after, and Sharifa lost touch with her family in India.
Until idle chatter by Santokh Singh from Punjab's Sangrur district at a tea-stall lit the hope of reunion. Singh had travelled to Pakistan on business, and was talking about his adventures at a tea-stall in Hathan village.
Din, who owned the stall, was listening intently and requested the Sikh youth to help him find his sister.
Santokh agreed readily and took down Sharifa's details. He circulated them among his contacts across the border, and found that the 87-year-old was still alive. She was living with her family in Mirpur district, in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir
"When Santokh helped me talk to my sister, we cried," says 85-year-old Fazal. "I couldn't believe I would get to meet or even talk to her at this age."
The siblings first touched base on social media and shared pictures. They slowly began to forge a relationship, anew. "I always wanted to meet my brothers back home, but couldn't find a way to find them," says Sharifa.
Finally, Sharifa made a trip to India with her daughter Bashira. "It's a real joy to see my mother reunited with her family," says Bashira. Santokh is now seen as the messiah who brought the long-lost siblings together in the twilight of their lives.