Sikhs laud permission to visit shrines in Pakistan
28 November, 2005
JAMMU, November 29 (Online): Several Sikh organisations in occupied Jammu and Kashmir have lauded the role of Pakistan President, General Pervez Musharraf and the Indian Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, in facilitating the visit of Sikhs to various religious places in Pakistan.
According to Kashmir Media Service, a former President of occupied Kashmir Gurdwara Prabandhak Board, S. S. Wazir, told mediamen here that, "By agreeing to allow Sikhs from occupied Jammu and Kashmir to visit different Gurdwaras in Pakistan, General Musharraf has fulfilled their long-cherished desire."
He said the permission to Kashmiri Sikhs to visit Pakistan was the outcome of the peace process initiated by Islamabad and Delhi. He said, "Our appeal to the heads of the two governments is to carry the peace process to its logical conclusion so that turmoil is replaced by tranquility in the South Asian subcontinent."
Narbir Singh, President of the youth Akali Dal, Mohinder Singh, chief organiser of the Bhai Kanahya Nishkam Seva Society, and Paramjit Singh, President of the AISSF, said it would be for the first time since 1947 that groups of Sikhs from occupied Kashmir would join the religious procession of the community people from various areas of India visiting their religious places in Pakistan.
The Sikh leaders complimented the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, especially its president, Paramjit Singh Sarna, for organising a large Sikh procession to Pakistan. They said the time had come for India and Pakistan to shed mistrust and bitterness and work for closer cooperation in the interest of peace in South Asia.
End.
|
