SGPC ask Pakistan Evacuee Trust Board to restore Sikh shrines in Pak

Amritsar, Nov.29 (ANI): The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) today asked Pakistan Evacuee Trust Board Chairman Zanab Syed A. Hashmi to use his office to help repair and restore various Sikh gurdwaras in Pakistan.

SGPC secretary Dalmegh Singh submitted a memo to Hashmi during the latter's visit to the Golden Temple.

SGPC head Jathedar Avtar Singh Makkar also said many shrines needed immediate repair.

"There are hundreds of historical Sikh shrines in Pakistan out of which a very few, including the Gurdwara Panja Sahib, the Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, the Gurdwara Sacha Sauda Sahib and the gurdwaras at Nankana Sahib and Lahore are allowed to be visited by Sikh Pilgrims. We appreciate that some repair, renovation and construction have been carried out in those few shrines, but many shrines are there of historical importance which are in a dilapidated condition and for want of proper maintenance they are about to loose their existence," said Makkar.

He said the shrines are not merely places of worship, but a living history of the community.

The SGPC also demanded that 60 percent of the total pilgrims from India have been sponsored by SGPC, and added that this practice of several decades is not being adhered to by Pakistan High Commission in India.

The SGPC has offered to construct accommodations at its cost if the Pakistan government to allow the kar sewa for the construction of serais.

The SGPC also want that the Guru Nanak shrine Babaji De Ber at Sialkot is opened for Sikh pilgrims from India. By Ravinder Singh Robin (ANI)