Anjum’s father. A direct descendent of a Moghul emperor, Mulaqat Ali is fond of retelling myths of the Moghul dynasty and reciting Urdu poetry. When his wife, Jahanara, reveals to him that their child—then Aftab—is intersex, he suggests that Aftab undergo a gender alteration surgery. After Anjum has moved to the Khwabgah, Mulaqat Ali never speaks with her again.