Amritsar, March 21
THE RISING influence of the Taliban and the consequent collapse of law and order in Pakistan threaten the annual Baisakhi pilgrimage of the Sikhs, as the Shiromani’ Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) fears for the safety of its Jatha.
Already; it has got a poor response to its appeal to submit passports for joining the pilgrimage to Pakistan.
“We usually receive over 2,000 passports within two days of the announcement of the pilgrimage, but only 700 passports have reached us, so far, this year after more than a week of the announcement. The decline is because of the deteriorated law and order in Pakistan,” says SGPC secretary Dalmegh Singh.
Expressing his concern over the security of the Sikh pilgrims to be sent in April to Pakistan, SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said collection of passports was on but the final decision on the pilgrimage would come in April.
The SGPC says the security of the pilgrim paramount and it has asked the Union Government to discuss this issue with Pakistan. So far, there is no reply from the Centre and it has made the SGPC even more worried.
“We will send the pilgrims across only when we are fully assured of their safety,” said Makkar in reply to a query posed to him in Amritsar.
He said the state of Security in Pakistan is evident from the statements of some Hindu families who had migrated recently to India.
