At Sadiqi border, strained Indo-Pak ties dampen spirits

Praful Chander Nagpal
Fazilka, August 16

The impact of strained relations between India and Pakistan after the abrogation of Article 370 in J&K was visible at the Joint Check Post (JCP) Sadiqi in Fazilka sector on Independence Day as the footfall has considerably come down this year.

According to official sources, nearly 25,000 people thronged the JCP on Independence Day this year as compared to about 45,000 to 50,000 per year during previous years.

The JCP Sadiqi is the only place where kin of segregated families at the time of Partition used to visit Fazilka border to see, waive hands and convey their feelings to their relatives. Historian Lachhman Dost said till 2012 the authorities on both sides of the border used to allow the family members to meet, hug and shake hand with each other but the practice was later on discontinued apparently due to security reasons.

Aayanat Ali, who hails from Rawla Mandi of Sriganganagar and presently residing in Rampura village near Fazilka town, said they waived hands to the family members of their paternal uncle on the other side of border.

Another visitor Vijay Kumar of Fazilka, whose maternal uncle’s family members have been residing in Pakistan, rued that physical barriers between India and Pakistan had become stronger due to bitterness between the two governments. The sources said less number of people from other states turned up on the occasion this year.