Sikh Bodies, Indian Delegations Denied to Hold Nagar Kirtan at Nankana Sahib in Pakistan
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Pakistan has denied permission for an Indian delegation
comprising representatives of the Punjab government and various Sikh bodies to
hold ‘nagar kirtan’ at Nankana Sahib, which is the birthplace of Guru Nanak.
The delegation, led by the Punjab government and including representatives of the SGPC and DSGMC, had planned to organise ‘Akhand Path’ and hold ‘nagar kirtan’ at Nankana Sahib in Pakistan’s Punjab province as part of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.
Pakistan did not grant visas for a 31-member delegation
of the Punjab government and another 450 Indian pilgrims even though their
applications were recommended by the Indian government to the Pakistan high
commission in New Delhi, the people cited above said.
Authorities in Pakistan instead decided to give
leadership of the group of pilgrims to Paramjit Singh Sarna and this has not
been viewed well by the people of India’s Punjab state, the people added.
“It is seen as disrespect to the sentiments of the members
of the Sikh community who wanted to visit Nankana Sahib on the auspicious
occasion to start commemorations of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak
from the first week of November,” said a person who declined to be identified.
The people said this is perhaps the first time that
Pakistan, whose leadership has often spoken of facilitating Sikh pilgrims to
visit Nankana Sahib, has denied such a visit.
Pakistan is also yet to respond to a proposal made by the
Indian government to enhance the number of pilgrims visiting the country on the
occasion of Gurpurab in November, under the 1974 protocol, to 10,000 instead of
the regular 3,000, the people said.
The people said the position taken by Pakistani
authorities reflected lack of seriousness in translating statements made by the
country’s leadership into actions to ensure smooth and easy access for Indian
Sikh pilgrims to sacred gurdwaras in Pakistan, especially on the occasion of
550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.
In a separate development, India on Tuesday shared a list
of 575 pilgrims who will be part of the inaugural ‘jatha’ to use the Kartarpur
Corridor to travel to Darbar Sahib gurdwara, built at the site where Guru Nanak
spent the final years of his
life.
