Pakistan may bar non-sikhs from accompanying jathas

AMRITSAR: After two Indian pilgrims violated the rules of pilgrimage visa by leaving a Sikh jatha recently, Pakistan is planning to bar people of other faiths from accompanying Sikh jathas which visit the country to celebrate religious festivals in various gurdwaras.

The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), which is the government body to manage affairs of Hindu and Sikh shrines in Pakistan, has initiated deliberations to impose a ban on Muslim, Hindu or Christian devotees to enter Pakistan as members of the Sikh jatha.

Talking to Hindustan Times over phone, Imran Gondal, spokesperson and deputy director of ETPB, said the matter is on the level of discussion and the board is seriously thinking in this regard in view of the act of two pilgrims—kiran Bala and Amarjit Singh—who came along with a Sikh jatha from India via Attari-wagah border on April 12 but did not return with it on April 22.

Bala, hailing from Hoshiarpur district of Punjab, embraced Islam and married a Lahorebased man. On the basis of marriage, she has got visa extension for six months.

Her pilgrimage visa was of 10 days like other members of the jatha. Amarjit left the jatha at Nankana Sahib, the birth place of Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhism, to meet his facebook friend at Sheikhupura. As he did not return on April 22, Amarjit was deported on April 24.

Though both the pilgrims were Sikhs as per the SGPC record, the ETPB did not consider them as members of the Sikh community. “The ETPB has taken a serious note of the acts of both the pilgrims who were non-sikhs. The board will conduct a meeting with Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) and the government departments concerned to consult the matter with them,” he added.

He however refuted media reports that such a ban has already been imposed. “The final decision on the issue is yet to be taken,” he added.

He also made it clear that Hindu pilgrims would only be able to visit the country on the occasion of their religious festivals, according to the proposed travel restrictions.

He said the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) does not send the details of Sikh pilgrims to the board, due to which recognition of the pilgrims becomes a hurdle.

EVACUEE TRUST PROPERTY BOARD CONSIDERS MOVE IN THE WAKE OF TWO PILGRIMS OF BAISAKHI JATHA VIOLATING PILGRIMAGE VISA RULES; SGPC HAILS PROPOSAL

A GOOD MEASURE: SGPC

When contacted, SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal said, “If they are taking such a decision, it will be a very good measure in the direction of bringing reforms in the pilgrimage,” he said.

He added, “We support the idea that only sabat-surat (those who do not cut their hair or trim their beard) and devout Sikhs should be allowed to go to Pakistan as pilgrims.”