549th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji : Sidhu-COAS embrace led to Kartarpur border’s opening: minister

NANKANA SAHIB: Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Peer Noorul Haq Qadri has said that Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikhism, gave the message of humanity and brotherhood.

He was addressing a ceremony held to celebrate the 549th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji at Gurdwara Janamasthan here on Friday. He said that saints of the sub-continent gave the message of peace and brotherhood and it was the reason that Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Hindus sat together on the table of free food (Langar) at the shrine of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti at Ajmer Sharif.

The minister said: “Hug between COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and Indian politician Navjot Singh Sidhu has played a vital role in the opening of Kartarpur border and such more hugs can bring both countries closer to each other.” He said: “We are proud of COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa who gives the message of peace.” He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan was serious to resolve all issues through dialogue.

The minister said: “Our government would issue a postal ticket or a coin regarding the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak. He said that the government would set up the Baba Guru Nanak University as soon as possible. He said that the government of Pakistan would consider to issue visas on arrival to Indian Sikh Yatrees.

Provincial Minister for Human Rights Ijaz Alam said that the government wanted to provide maximum facilities to all minorities. He said that the Punjab government would ensure safety of all Gurdwaras across the province. He congratulated the Sikh community on the birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak on behalf of Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar.

Leader of Delhi Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Sardar Param Jeet Singh Sarna said that good relations between Pakistan and India were vital for peaceful coexistence. He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan had won the hearts of the Sikh community by announcing the opening of Kartarpur border. He hoped that nearly 50,000 Indian Sikh Yatrees would visit Gurdwara Janamasthan, Nankana, after the opening of Kartarpur border. He demanded the Shiromani Parbanhak Committee Amritsar establish the Sixth Throne in Nankana as there should be a throne of Sikh community outside India. Leader of American Sikh Yatrees Dr Rajwant Singh said that Baba Guru Nanak gave equal rights to men and women. He said that the Sikh community wanted to see Pakistan prosperous.

Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Secretary General Sardar Gopal Singh Chawala regretted that the Sikhs had taken a wrong decision at the time of partition of the sub-continent. He said that unfortunately we could not get Khalistan due to the wrong decision. He said that the Indian government was committing atrocities on innocent Kashmiris.

Group leader of Indian Sikh Yatrees Sardar Amar Jeet Singh thanked the Pakistan government for marvelous arrangements and facilities at the Gurdwara. Nearly 20,000 Sikh Yatrees from all over the world and Hindus from interior Sindh participated in it. The police had made strict security measures to avoid any untoward incident.