Pakistan government’s move to hand over the management of the Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib to a non-Sikh body has been criticised by India
India said that it only exposes the Imran Khan-led government and their “tall claims of protecting the rights of religious minorities”.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs said, “We have seen reports about Pakistan transferring the management and maintenance of the Holy Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib away from the Pakistan Sikh Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC), a body run by the minority Sikh community, to the administrative control of the Evacuee Trust Property Board, a non-Sikh body.
“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,” the statement read.
The ministry further said such actions only expose the reality of the Pakistan government and its leadership’s tall claims of preserving and protecting the rights of religious minorities. “Pakistan is called upon to reverse its arbitrary decision to deprive the Sikh minority community its right to manage affairs of the Holy Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib,” the statement added.
