Washington, DC – A delegation of Sikhs of America led by Jasdeep Singh Jassi, met with Pakistani Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan regarding an untoward incident at Nankana Sahib, one of the holiest shrines of Sikhism.
Jassi Singh praised the immediate action taken by the Pakistan government and conveyed the gratitude of the Sikhs towards the administrators of Nankana Sahib who took control of the volatile situation. Singh said that such situation should not be repeated in the future. The life and property of the Pakistan Sikh community should be protected.
Ambassador Majeed assured the delegation of Sikhs of America that such a situation would not be allowed to happen in the future. He said the issue was wrongly portrayed in the Indian media. A press statement from the Pakistani Embassy noted, “Regarding some recent mischievous reporting on events in Nankana Sahib and Peshawar, the Ambassador categorically rejected allegations of any “attack” and “desecration” at the Holy Gurudwara Nankana Sahib.”
The Ambassador assured that every kind of help and security will be provided to the care of the Sikh community. He said that the historic opening of the Kartarpur Corridor on November 9, 2019 was a clear manifestation of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision for peace and inclusiveness in the region.
The Ambassador said that we would soon start a visa open house at local gurudwaras and give visas to sangat for visiting Sikh shrines of Pakistan.
The delegation included Baljinder Singh Shammi, Surinder Singh Gill, Gurinder Singh Sethi, Inderjit Singh Gujral, Surjit Singh Mann, Surmukh Singh Manku, and Omar Jan of Next TV.
Surinder Singh Gill raised the visa issue with Ambassador Majeed requesting that there should be a multiple entry which will help to utilize the visa duration. Secondly when a person applies for a visa again after utilization of first term., he/she should not be asked for a religious sponsorship letter, rather this condition should be avoided. He said minimum tenure of visa should be six months with multiple entry. It will solve lot of problems of Nanak Nam leva sangat who wanted to visit Pakistan Gurudwaras.
Baljinder Singh Shammi said the attitude and dealing of Pakistan community is praise worthy. Inderjit Singh Gujral said the highways of Pakistan are better than India.
Sajid Tarar, who facilitated the visit, said that open house in Sikh temple shall be started to facilitate Sikh sangat to pay respect to their religious shrines. Ambassador agreed upon it and mentioned that this shall be started in mid February 2020 from Gurudwara Sikh Association of Baltimore.
S S Manku and Surjit Singh Mann said our birth place is Pakistan we should be given one year visa as we are basically called Pakistani. We love our birth place and we should be treated accordingly.