45-day multiple visa for non-Indian Sikh pilgrims, says Sarwar

LAHORE : Governor Ch Muhammad Sarwar announced that the PTI government has formally decided to issue 45-day multiple visas for Sikh pilgrims holding passports other than those of India.

Pakistan expects more than one lakh Sikh pilgrims to visit on the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak, he said while talking to a delegation led by Minister for Minorities’ Affairs and Human rights Punjab Ejaz Alam Augustine and Minority MPA Sardar Mahindar Pal Singh on Saturday.

The governor said Prime Minister Imran Khan’s speech at the UNGA was expected to shake the world conscience, forcing world governments take notice of Indian atrocities and human rights violation in Kashmir. He said the Indian move to lift curfew during daytime in Kashmir was mere eyewash.

He termed the multiple visa a historical step and Imran Khan government’s gift to Sikhs pilgrims around the world. He said Imran Khan would inaugurate the Kartarpur Corridor in the second week of November under any circumstances. He praised Imran Khan for fighting the case of Kashmiris and the Muslim world with unprecedented courage and bravery. He said it’s time for the world to come forward to force India to end oppression in Kashmir instead of being a silent spectator, and warned that until the Kashmir issue was resolved, peace could not be impossible in this region.

World Rabies Day observed: The University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Lahore observed World Rabies Day and arranged a walk, seminar, presentation on rabies and a vaccination camp to create awareness among the public about rabies. Vice-Chancellor Meritorious Prof Dr Talat Naseer Pasha led the walk while senior tutor Prof Dr Kamran Ashraf, Prof Dr Tahir Yaqub, Incharge Pet Center Prof Dr Asim Khalid and a large number of students and faculty members participated in the events. UVAS Pet Center started the camp by vaccinating a dog.

Later, a seminar was held at the conference hall, chaired by Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Talat Naseer Pasha. A number of students and faculty members attended the seminar. Similar programmes on rabies were also arranged in other campuses of UVAS. Speaking on the occasion, Prof Dr Talat Naseer Pasha lauded the presentation and achievements of Assistant Prof Dr Jibran Hussain, and Ms Afsheen Shafqat, a student of College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Jhang, who won a prestige award of worth rupees US$3,000 during the Poultry Science Conference at the occasion of International Poultry Expo (IPEX-2019).