4 of Faridkot family yet to be traced in Pak

Lahore, April 26

Pakistani authorities have so far failed to make any headway in the mysterious disappearance of a four-member Sikh family from India who went missing during their trip to the country to celebrate Baisakhi.

The first-ever incident of its kind, which prompted authorities to launch a thorough search operation, came to light when around 2,000 Sikh pilgrims, including 1,717 Indians, visited Pakistan on a 10-day trip to celebrate Baisakhi festival earlier this month. The missing people were identified as Sunil Singh (38), his wife Sunita (27), and their children, daughter Huma Kaur (9) and son Umer Singh (10). They had come here from Indian village Sandhawala in Faridkot on April 11. They were reported missing on April 20 when they did not turn up at Wagah to return to India. Their visa expired on April 20.

“The Sikh family probably had gone missing on April 17 in Nankana Sahib as they were last seen there (Gurdwara Janamesthan),” Evacuee Trust Property Board Deputy Director Fraz Abbas said. He said over 1,700 Indian Sikhs, who arrived here on April 11 for Baisakhi held at Gurdwara Panja Sahib Hasan Abdal, some 250 km from here, visited Gurdwara Janamesthan in Nankana Sahib on April 17. — PTI