By Bahar Ostadan
Crowds packed into a Pakistani restaurant in Hicksville during what seemed to be an unassuming Sunday lunchtime rush. But sitting at the front of the room was a local celebrity: 113-year-old Sadar Khatoon, among Jericho’s newest residents.
Khatoon emigrated from Pakistan about two weeks ago to join her family in the Nassau County hamlet after a yearslong visa battle that required the intervention of Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove). She wore a cheetah print shawl, iridescent mittens and — perhaps most impressively — 3-inch heels.
Asked by Newsday for her secret to longevity, Khatoon said: "I don’t eat as much as you guys."
The crowd laughed as she listed approved meals: "good meat," fish and rice.
Khatoon’s family had been trying to get her to Long Island since 2019. The process stalled in December after U.S. officials said that Khatoon’s exposure to tuberculosis in Pakistan made her ineligible for a visa, according to her son-in-law. That’s when the family contacted Suozzi’s office for help.
"I called the ambassador in Pakistan myself on several occasions," Suozzi said at the restaurant on Sunday.
Finally, on March 6, Khatoon’s permanent resident visa was issued. She arrived at Kennedy Airport on March 12.
Khatoon held her own before the crowd at Shaheen Restaurant, posing for photos with the congressman and swatting away mango lassi when it was offered. Peeking out from her wheelchair were yellow-striped socks.
The celebration Sunday also marked Pakistan Day, a national holiday commemorating the adoption of Pakistan’s first constitution in 1940. Khatoon was born 28 years before that on Jan. 1, 1912, in the city of Larkana. Before coming to Long Island, she lived in the Sindh province. There are about 95,000 people of Pakistani descent in New York State, according to recent American Community Survey estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Adam Muhammad Azam, Khatoon’s son-in-law, said she doesn’t have any medical issues. He and his wife, Shaheen (no relation to the restaurant), emigrated to Long Island 35 years ago, Azam said.
Suozzi presented the family with an American flag that had previously flown over the U.S. Capitol, welcoming Khatoon to the United States.
"She’s starting a job tomorrow as a landscaper," he joked.
But Khatoon will be taking it easy, spending long-awaited time with her daughter. Through a translator she said, "God bless. I love America."
