Pakistan denies visas to 92 Indian devotees: Report

Pakistan has reportedly denied visas to 92 Indian Sikh devotees, sparking criticism over religious access to Gurdwara Panja Sahib. The move, reported in Khalsa Vox, has raised concerns about strained India–Pakistan religious pilgrimage arrangements and Sikh community sentiments

Islamabad: The Pakistan government has denied granting visas to 92 Indian devotees, according to an article published in the Khalsa Vox news portal.

The article said that initially, the nation had issued visas to the devotees for the period from April 10 to 19, during which pilgrims celebrated Khalsa Sajna Diwas at Gurdwara Panja Sahib.

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Though these 92 devotees do not use “Singh” or “Kaur” in their names, all of them have firm faith in all the ten Sikh gurus, Sudeep Singh writes in Khalsa Vox.

In his article, Singh blamed the “flawed policies” of the Pakistan government for hurting the religious sentiments of the Indian families by depriving them of the opportunity.

He said that the incident should be a lesson for those who still aspire for friendship with Pakistan.

“It appears that Pakistan’s intention is to distance people of the Hindu community from Gurdwaras. Under what seems like a calculated move, Sehajdhari devotees have been denied visas,” Singh wrote for Khalsa Vox .

The article noted that a large number of non-Sikh families exist not only in India but also in Pakistan’s Sindh province and across the world, who bow before the Guru Granth Sahib and conduct all their family ceremonies in accordance with Sikh traditions.

Singh, in his editorial, cautioned that Pakistan would make a “grave mistake” for harbouring such intentions.

He called the relationship between Hindu and Sikh families as “deeply intertwined, like flesh and nails”, which cannot be separated.

Pakistan’s previous approval of visas from April 10 to 19, was against India’s schedule.

The Indian government, based on recommendations from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and the Punjab government, had announced sending the ‘Jatha’ from April 12 to 21, Singh wrote in Khalsa Vox.

He highlighted Pakistan’s pretense to be “sympathetic” towards the Sikh community, even as its Intelligence agency ISI is allegedly involved in sending drugs and weapons into India and also providing financial support to pro-Khalistan elements based abroad.

Earlier, investigators in India’s Punjab had busted a drug smuggling module, with alleged links to Pakistan.

The police had reportedly recovered 64.62 kg of heroin from the accused.

Meanwhile, Sudeep Singh mentioned in the article that according to Paramjit Singh Chandok, Advisor on Foreign Affairs to the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, the issue has been raised with the Pakistan government.

Singh underlined the faith that the Sindhi community, in particular, has on Sikh institutions.

He also mentioned about a “growing concern” that in accordance with such policies, the Pakistan government might, in the future, even restrict their entry into gurdwaras.