Ferozepur, May 7: The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) has asked the International Bhai Mardana Kirtan Darbar Society (IBMKDS) to desist from sending Hindus and people of other faiths along with Sikh jathas in the future.
Besides other organisations, the IBMKDS generally recommends visa for pilgrims desirous of going to Pakistan.This comes in the wake of the “disappearing” act done by two Indian pilgrims Kiran Bala and Amarjit Singh who sidestepped the norms by leaving the Sikh jatha of which they were members during their trip to Pakistan recently.
Harpal Singh Bhullar, president, IBMKDS, told The Tribune that Tariq Wazir Khan, officiating chairman, ETPB, and its Deputy Secretary Imran Khan Godnal had cautioned him not to send Hindus along with Sikh jathas going to Pakistan on June 8 for the Guru Arjan Dev’s Shaheedi Jor Mela and thereafter on June 21 for the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Bhullar said Sikh youths travelling with their families were being preferred. He added that unshaven Sikhs may also not be granted visa henceforth, as per a communiqué from the ETPB and Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC).
Bhullar said young women travelling alone might also find it difficult to get a place in the jathas. Two pilgrims Kiran Bala and Amarjit Singh, who had gone to Pakistan with a Sikh jatha from India via the Attari-Wagah border on April 12, did not return with them.
While Kiran Bala of Hoshiarpur embraced Islam and married a Lahore-based man, Amarjit left the accompanying pilgrims to meet his facebook friend at Sheikhupura.While Kiran got her visa extended by six months, Amarjit was deported to India on April 24, two days after the rest of the jatha came home.
Source Tribune India
