Pakistan no to Sikh ‘jatha’ on martyrdom day of Guru Arjan Dev

Tribune News Service
Amritsar, June 4

The Pakistan Government has refused to host the Indian Sikh ‘jatha’ on the occasion of martyrdom day of Guru Arjan Dev.

SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur said due to the Covid-19 threat, the Pakistan Government had denied permission for the ‘jatha’ this year. “There was no restriction from the Indian side, but the Pakistan authorities conveyed us not to send any jatha,” she said.

As per annual routine, the SGPC was fully prepared to send the ‘jatha’ across the border. It was scheduled to depart for Pakistan on June 6 to mark the martyrdom day on June 14. SGPC’s assistant secretary Kulwinder Singh Ramdas said, “The Yatra Department of the SGPC had a telephonic talk with Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) president Satwant Singh, who informed that due to the grim Covid situation, the jatha could not be allowed by the government.” The pilgrims who had deposited their passports can collect them back from the SGPC’s Yatra Department.

Keeping in view the prevailing situation, there is negligible chance of a pilgrimage on the occasion of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s martyrdom that falls in the end of June.