My father left his job, my mother left her family: Tabish Hashmi on family’s move to Pakistan

Host and stand – up comedian Tabish Hashmi is one of our favourite people on screen but did you know that until very recently, his family was living in India?

The star host was invited as a guest on Hafiz Ahmed’s Podcast where he detailed the difficulties his family faced when they shifted to Pakistan from India in 1984.

“My father moved to Pakistan in 1984, leaving behind a comfortable life in India where he had a good job. His brothers, who were already settled in Pakistan, encouraged him to make the move. It was my grandmother’s illness that finally prompted him to take the leap. While my father’s sacrifice was significant, as he gave up his job, it was my mother who made the ultimate sacrifice, leaving behind her entire family to join my father in Pakistan. My elder sisters were born in India, and I was born in Pakistan.”

Talking about how his father became a citizen of Pakistan, he said, “At that time, it was relatively easy to settle in Pakistan by showing investment in the form of dollars or money. Fortunately, my father had the necessary funds, so we were able to obtain Pakistani nationality.”

Well, we are glad that Tabish’s family made the move. Or else we would have been deprived of one of our brightest stars.