Pakistan Takes Away Management Of Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara From Sikhs, Gives It To Mohammed Tariq Khan Led Trust

The Ministry of External Affairs has issued a stern statement of opposition to the Imran Khan-led Pakistani government taking over complete control of Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur.

Earlier on Thursday, DNA reported that Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) has formulated a ‘Project Kartarpur Corridor’.

Subsequently, the Mohammed Tariq Khan-led Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) has been entrusted with the management and maintenance of the sacred Gurudwara. This is the first time that the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee has been robbed off its control over the Gurudwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur.

“We have seen reports about Pakistan transferring the management and maintenance of the Holy Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib away from the Pakistan Sikh Gurudwara Prabhandhak Committee (PSGPC), a body run by the minority Sikh Community, to the administrative control of the Evacuee Trust Property Board, a non-Sikh body,” the MEA asserted.

The release further read, “This unilateral decision by Pakistan is highly condemnable and runs against the spirit of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor as also the religious sentiments of the Sikh community at large. We have received representations from the Sikh community expressing grave concern at this decision by Pakistan targeting the rights of the minority Sikh community in Pakistan.”

“Such actions only expose the reality of the Pakistani government and its leadership’s tall claims of preserving and protecting the rights and welfare of the religious minority communities. Pakistan is called upon to reverse its arbitrary decision to deprive the Sikh minority community it’s right to manage affairs of the Holy Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib.”

Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji is believed to have spent the last 18 years of his life in Kartarpur village that is now situated in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Now, the ETPB has formed the PMU Kartarpur Sahib that will be the self-financing body for the management and maintenance of the Gurudwara. It comprises of nine non-Sikh officials who will operate under the administrative control of the ETPB.

In 2019, the corridor to Gurudwara Darbar Sahib was opened that permitted the Indian pilgrims to access the holy shrine without a visa.