Gujranwala, October 26, 2022 (PPI-OT): Britain’s new prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has embraced his Indian and Hindu heritage but he also has roots in present-day Pakistan, in the city of Gujranwala, where his paternal grandparents lived during Britain’s colonial rule, wrote Associated Press. Today, many in Gujranwala, an industrial hub in Punjab province along the border with India, say the new U.K. leader is uniquely positioned to push for a solution to the Kashmir crisis – the main point of contention between the two South Asian rivals.

Sunak’s grandfather Ramdas Sunak and grandmother Suhag Rani lived in Gujranwala until 1935 and though most of the city’s residents today have no memory of those long-ago days, they say they feel jubilant over the 42-year-old politician’s victory. They hope diplomatic ties between Pakistan and Britain will improve under Rishi Sunak, who on Tuesday became Britain’s youngest premier.

It is a “matter of happiness” that some of the new U.K. premier’s ancestors hailed from here, said Omar Ali, a wrestler – a sport that has made Gujranwala famous world over. College professor Khurram Shehzad said he hoped Sunak would work not only to strengthen relations between Pakistan and Britain but also bring a “new era of success” for Pakistan and India. City authorities say most records were destroyed during the sectarian violence surrounding the partition, and that there is no proof of where exactly Sunak’s grandfather lived – though popular belief points to Machli Bazaar, where most of the city’s Hindu community once lived.

An abandoned Hindu temple stands as testament to the community’s life here before the partition forced a mass migration to India. The name, Machli Bazaar, translates roughly as “fish market” and the neighbourhood is known for its delicious food and eateries. Throngs of food lovers visit every year – and not just for the fried fish but also other delicacies. Sunak’s appointment “is an honour for us and for our city, and we are hopeful that in the coming days Pakistan and Britain’s diplomatic relations will improve,” said Hafiz Umar, whose family has a long history in Machli Bazar.

“It seems Rishi Sunak’s priority will be to handle economic challenges at home but we hope he will also try to resolve the issue of Kashmir, which is the main cause of the rift between Pakistan and India,” said Masarrat Jamsheed Cheema, a Punjab government spokesperson. From Punjab, Sunak’s grandparents moved to East Africa in the late 1930s, before finally settling in the U.K. in the 1960s. Sunak was born in 1980 in Southampton on England’s south coast. In neighbouring India, people point out Sunak’s associations with India – he is married to Akshata Murty, whose father is Indian billionaire N.R. Narayana Murthy, founder of tech giant Infosys. After Sunak’s nomination, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif took to twitter to offer his best wishes.

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