Pakistan govt denied permission to Sikh pilgrims Jatha-SGPC
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in
The jatha (batch of pilgrims) of Sikh pilgrims which goes to Pakistan every year to mark the martyrdom day of Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji, the fifth Sikh master at Gurdwara Dehra Sahib in Lahore, would not be able to go this year.
Pakistan government did not give permission to jatha due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation. Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Bibi Jagir Kaur said that giving the reason of COVID-19 pandemic, Pakistan government has not given permission to jatha.
“SGPC was fully prepared to send the jatha across the border to Pakistan and so far, the Indian government had also not raised any kind of restriction on the jatha”, said Bibi Jagir Kaur. SGPC’s assistant secretary media Kulwinder Singh Ramdas said, “The Yatra Department of SGPC talked telephonically to Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee’s (PSGPC’s) president Satwant Singh, who informed that due to the COVID-19 situation the jatha coming to Pakistan on the occasion of Shaheedi Diwas (martyrdom day) of the fifth Guru has not been given permission by the government.”
Pakistan govt denied permission to Sikh pilgrims Jatha-SGPC assistant secretary media Kulwinder Singh said that the jatha was scheduled to depart for Pakistan on June 6 to mark the martyrdom day on June 14.
“The pilgrims who had deposited their passports for going to Pakistan on the occasion of martyrdom day of Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji, can collect them back from the SGPC’s Yatra Department”, said Kulwinder Singh.
Gurdwara Dera Sahib, Lahore
Gurdwara Dera Sahib is a Gurudwara in Lahore, Pakistan, which commemorates the spot where the 5th guru of Sikhism, Guru Arjan Dev ji, had undergone torture on the orders of the Mughal emperor Jahangir and was martyred in 1606. The gurdwara is located just outside of the Walled City of Lahore, and is part of an ensemble of monuments which includes the Lahore Fort, Samadhi of Ranjit Singh, Hazuri Bagh quadrangle, Roshnai Gate, and the Badshahi Mosque.
June 4,2021
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