Deputy speaker of Pakistan Punjab Rana Mashood Ahmed Khan taking in the view of his ancestral village Allah Ditta Mothanwal from the terrace of a building. Sanjeev Bhalla/HT
Residents of Allah Ditta Mothanwal village welcomed a special guest on Sunday. Deputy speaker of Pakistan Punjab assembly
Rana Mashood Ahmad Khan was in their midst. It was from here that his parents migrated to Pakistan after partition.
Rana, in India to attend the
finals of Kabaddi World Cup, reached the village at 9 am and inaugurated the new building of a school.
He interacted with the villagers and shared memories of his great-grandfather Chaudhary Asad Ullah Khan, grandfather Choudhary Anayat Mohamad Khan and father Abdul Rahim with the village elders.
"A great desire has been fulfilled. I used to hear a lot about this village from my parents and grandparents. Today, I met Kartar Kaur and Malook Ram, companions of my father before partition. We all got emotional, while discussing the past."
To get a better view of his house and to take photographs, Rana went on to the top floor of a multi-storey house in the village.
"The game of Kabaddi has helped me retrace my roots. The game can also play an important role in easing strained relations between India and Pakistan," he said.
He also visited his ancestral house, now in a dilapidated condition. He took some bricks from the structure as a souvenir of his visit.
Deputy commissioner Alaknanda Dayal, SDM Sultanpur Lodhi, Kuldip Singh Chandi and principal of the school he inaugurated Harbhajan Singh Saini were present.