Stranded in Lahore, two Amritsar families appeal for help

AMRITSAR: Five members of two families from Amritsar, including two heart patients, who have been stranded in Pakistan since imposition of the lockdown, have made an emotional appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking his help for evacuation from Lahore as they have run out of money and medicines.
Satbir Singh, a resident of Amritsar’s Golden Avenue, told TOI on Saturday that he along with his wife had gone to Pakistan on March 10 on a 30-day visa to pay obeisance at various gurdwaras in that country but couldn’t return as the international border was sealed by both by India and Pakistan.
Harjit Singh, a resident of Nawan Kot in Amritsar, said he and his wife and a female relative had become stranded in Pakistan.
Satbir said they initially thought the lockdown would be lifted soon and they would be able to return to India, but it didn’t happen. The family was staying in Gurdwara Dera Sahib in Lahore when they met a local Sikh from Lahore, Amrik Singh, who offered them a place to stay at his house.
“Amrik’s family gave all of us a warm welcome but we can’t be a burden on them anymore, we have finished with money and two of us are heart patients and need medicines, which are not locally available,” said Satbir. “We got our visas extended and also appealed to Indian high commission in Islamabad to arrange for our return journey to India but to no avail,” he added.
Satbir, who has an auto spares parts business in Amritsar, said he was worried about his children and family members as it had been over two months since he had seen them.