The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has expressed serious concern over this after the Government of India issued a letter of order to go to Pakistan. SGPC Secretary Pratap Singh clearly stated that in the name of safety of pilgrims, it is a major failure of the government to stop the batches from going to Pakistan. Pratap Singh said that this letter did not reach SGPC directly, but has been sent to the state government. It states that the batch going to Pakistan has been stopped due to security reasons.
He said that if the Government of Pakistan had any difficulty in making security arrangements, it would not allow the batch itself. But if the Government of Pakistan is ready to allow Sikh pilgrims to come, then it is unfair to stop them from the Government of India. He argued that the Sikh community has no opposition from any community or religion. Guru Nanak Dev Ji gave a message to humanity to chant the name of God, work hard and avoid partition. According to this message, Sikhs go to visit the religious places. Therefore, stopping the batch is a direct attack on religious freedom.
Sgpc Secretary targeted the Government of India
Taking a dig at the Government of India, the SGPC Secretary said that if cricket teams can play with Pakistan, then why can’t Sikhs go to visit their shrines? According to him, it is the failure of the government that it was unable to provide security to its own religious pilgrims.
Pratap Singh said that restrictions are understood in the atmosphere of war, but it is completely unfair to stop religious pilgrims at the time of peace. He clarified that the general public of India and Pakistan wants peace. People neither want war nor want to break business relations. Only the policies of political leaders are causing stress.
Government should respect the religious sentiments of Sikhs- Sgpc
The SGPC appealed to the government to respect the religious sentiments of the Sikhs and allow the groups to visit the shrines. Pratap Singh said that the Sikh community has been continuously praying that the religious places separated from the Sikh community during partition should be done without any hindrance. He reiterated that when sports and commercial activities are possible in both countries, stopping religious pilgrims is not only wrong, but also a major failure of the government.
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