In Sialkot, Pakistan, Khalid Bashir Bhatti is appealing for help to locate his brother, Mohammed Afzal Bhatti. Afzal, who went missing in Dubai in 1978, remains a painful mystery for the family.
Afzal, an AC technician, moved to Dubai in 1976 and lived in Deira near the now-demolished Kader Hotel. During his two years there, he regularly sent letters and gifts to his family, keeping them updated.
However, in 1978, communication abruptly stopped. Days before his disappearance, Afzal mentioned a dispute with his roommate in a letter. His father had advised him to switch rooms and stay calm. Sadly, this was the last the family heard from him.
“Friends found his belongings in the shared flat, but Afzal was gone,” Khalid explained. “We couldn’t track him without relatives in Dubai or ID systems. It felt like he vanished completely.”
Khalid, the youngest of five siblings, only learned about Afzal in 10th grade. His parents and sisters withheld the story earlier, fearing it would confuse him. “When I finally learned, Afzal felt like a myth instead of a real person,” Khalid recalled.
Over the years, the unresolved loss devastated the family. Khalid’s mother passed away in 2002 without knowing her son’s fate. Meanwhile, his father, now in his 80s, still looks to the door daily, hoping for his return.
Determined to find answers, Khalid contacted the Pakistani embassy in Dubai multiple times. Although the decades-long gap made the search difficult, he now turns to social media and media coverage for support.
“If Afzal is alive, he would be 68 today. We have a photo of him with friends from 1977,” Khalid said. “Maybe someone from that photo is still in Dubai and knows what happened.”
Khalid is willing to travel anywhere to uncover the truth. “We just need to know if he is alive or gone. My father deserves peace,” he added.
Anyone with information about Mohammed Afzal Bhatti can contact Khalid on WhatsApp at +923304390934.
