Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan on Monday promised the Sikh community that his government will facilitate the visit of pilgrims to Kartarpur and Nankana Sahib Gurdwaras for Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s 550th birth anniversary.
Pak PM Imran Khan’s Promise To Sikhs
PM’s comments came amidst massive outrage from the Pakistani Sikh community after a teenage girl was kidnapped and forced to convert into Islam at gunpoint.
At the International Sikh Convention at the Governor House in Islamabad, Khan made these remarks and added, “It is not a favour from our end but our duty. Kartarpur and Nankana Sahib are as holy for Sikhs as Makkah and Madina are for Muslims. I promised to make access for Sikh pilgrims as easy as possible.”
The Kartarpur corridor will connect Sikh shrines of Dera Baba Nanak Sahib located in Punjab, India and Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Pakistan. India and Pakistan have held a series of meeting for the construction of the same.
Imran Khan is getting a lot of criticism for the various incidents of forced conversion of girls into Islam, highlighting how miserable is the condition of the minorities and how they are being attacked in Pakistan, notably Hindus and Sikhs.
A recent incident involved 19-year-old Jagjit Kaur who was abducted and forcibly converted to Islam and made to marry a Muslim man in Pakistan.
She had gone missing for a number of days. She is the daughter of Bhagwan Singh who is a priest of Gurdwara Tambu Sahib. She was allegedly converted to Islam at gunpoint.
Another girl identified as Renuka Kumari was reported to be kidnapped from her college in Sukkur in Sindh province of Pakistan. Earlier this year, two Hindu sisters were similarly kidnapped and forced convert into Islam and marry Muslim men. Video of them pleading were released into the internet. Such incidents were taken up by India in their appeal to Pakistan, seeking action against perpetrators of these crimes.
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