Adnan Sami reveals Pakistan denied him visa to attend his mother’s funeral: "Had to watch her janaza on a WhatsApp video"

Singer and composer Adnan Sami recently spoke about one of the most devastating experiences of his life—losing his mother and not being able to say goodbye. In a deeply emotional interview with India TV, he shared how, even after pleading multiple times, the Pakistani government refused to grant him a visa to attend her funeral. His mother, Naureen Sami Khan, passed away in Pakistan, and Adnan was left grieving from afar, powerless to be with her during her final moments. The pain of that distance, he said, is something that still haunts him.
Adnan and his family cames in shock as her death came suddenly, without any prior illness. Still reeling from the news, he turned to both the Indian and Pakistani governments, hoping for a chance to be there for her last rites and to honour her memory in person.
“The Indian government was very supportive,” he recalled. “I asked if they had any objection to me going, and they said, ‘Of course not. Your mother has passed—you must go.’ There was no issue at all from their side.”
But the situation changed when he applied for a visa from Pakistan. “I told them my mother had passed away,” he said, holding back emotion. “Still, they refused. I couldn’t go. I had to watch her funeral through a video on WhatsApp.”
Adnan, who gave up his Pakistani citizenship to become an Indian national in 2016, first arrived in India in 2001 on a visitor visa, which was extended over the years. When his Pakistani passport expired in 2015 and was not renewed, he turned to the Indian government for help in regularizing his stay.
With timeless hits and his long and successful career in music— like Kabhi To Nazar Milao, Tera Chehra, and Bhar Do Jholi—this personal loss has left a lasting scar. Not being able to hold his mother’s hand one last time, or even stand by her grave, is a pain that still lingers in his heart.