Pak Sikh leaders urge India to allow pilgrims for Guru Nanak’s death anniversary event

Lahore, Sep 20 (PTI) The Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and the Evacuee Trust Property Board on Saturday asked India to allow Sikh pilgrims for the commemorative event marking Guru Nanak Dev's death anniversary at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur on September 22.

Following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 26, India has closed the Attari-Wagah land border.

The 9th meeting of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) held at the head office of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) here expressed “serious concern” over the reported denial of permission by the Indian government to Sikh pilgrims to visit Pakistan for religious purpose.

PSGPC president and Pakistan Punjab's first Sikh minister Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora and the ETPB, a body responsible for the upkeep of minority religious sites in the country, had on Wednesday claimed that Sikh devotees from India have been unable to travel following the restrictions imposed in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack.

Speaking after the PSGPC, Arora said: “India should not stop its citizens from visiting their holy places in Pakistan.” “Pakistan has always welcomed Sikh pilgrims to sacred sites such as Nankana Sahib, Kartarpur and Panja Sahib,” he said.

Pakistan opened the Kartarpur Corridor, around 4.1 kilometres from the Pakistan-India border, in November 2019.

The corridor links Pakistan's Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, where the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev, lived and died at the start of the 16th century, to the Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab's Gurdaspur district.

This corridor is meant to provide visa-free access to Indian pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib.

ETPB chairman Dr Sajid Mahmood Chauhan said that the government of Pakistan has always given top priority to the preservation and maintenance of gurdwaras and other sacred sites.

“Despite the recent floods, Kartarpur and other gurdwaras were reopened for pilgrims within 24 hours, which demonstrates Pakistan’s seriousness and commitment,” he said.

Additional Secretary Shrines Nasser Mushtaq stated that PSGPC and ETPB are continuously working to enhance facilities for Sikh pilgrims and ensure complete religious freedom for those visiting Pakistan. “We are fully prepared to host Sikh pilgrims from India and across the world,” he said.

Those present at the meeting included PSGPC General Secretary Satwant Kaur and Vice President Sardar Mahesh Singh. The meeting also passed a resolution against India's action.

Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan on Friday said that Pakistan is a proud custodian of many religious sites of the Sikh faith and every year, it welcomes thousands of Sikh pilgrims from across the world.

“As always, we are ready to welcome the pilgrims from the Indian side,” he said. PTI MZ NPK NPK