ISLAMABAD: Sikh community leaders urged New Delhi to lift a ban recently imposed on pilgrims traveling to Pakistan to visit the shrine of Guru Nanak, the founder of their faith. They said the move violates international norms and moral values.
The appeal came from Mahesh Singh, vice president of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the official body that manages Sikh shrines in Pakistan, where many holy places of Sikhs are located.
His remarks followed the Indian government’s Sept. 12 decision to deny permission for Sikhs to cross into Pakistan for Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary, citing security concerns. There was no immediate comment from New Delhi.
The dispute highlights broader tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals, who downgraded diplomatic ties and suspended visas after tit-for-tat missile strikes in May and an earlier deadly attack in disputed Kashmir. Though a US-brokered ceasefire has held, travel between the countries remains heavily restricted.
Despite the strained ties, Pakistani officials say Sikh and other religious pilgrims from India are still welcome to visit shrines in Pakistan under existing arrangements. Many of Sikhism’s holiest sites ended up in Pakistan after the partition of British India in 1947.
But Pakistani officials said they were still making arrangements to facilitate Indian pilgrims at the Kartarpur shrine, which is located in eastern Punjab’s recently flood-hit Narowal district, about 4.5 kilometers from the border.
The shrine is considered the second-holiest site in Sikhism.
The Kartarpur Corridor, inaugurated in 2019, created a visa-free border crossing for Sikh pilgrims from India, allowing thousands to visit the shrine daily. The shrine and surrounding villages were inundated last month when heavy rains and water released from overflowing Indian dams caused flooding across Narowal, affecting more than 100,000 people.
At one point, water stood 20 feet (6 meters) deep inside the shrine.
Punjab’s Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif ordered the water to be drained and the site restored, and the shrine reopened for worship and visits within a week.
Pakistani official Ghulam Mohiuddin said arrangements for lodging and food were being finalized for Sikh pilgrims traveling from India and abroad. He said if New Delhi lifts its ban, a record number of Indian Sikhs could visit Kartarpur this year.
Singh said thousands of Sikhs from India had hoped to take part in November’s weeklong celebration marking 556 years since Guru Nanak’s birth. He said Pakistan’s government has assured the committee that “the doors of Pakistan are open for Indian Sikh pilgrims,” and that visas would be granted through Pakistan’s high commission in New Delhi.
Another Sikh leader, Gyani Harpreet Singh, questioned the Indian government’s decision on X, noting that if India and Pakistan can play cricket matches, Sikhs should also be allowed to visit Pakistan for religious observances.
He appealed to New Delhi “not to play with the emotions of Sikhs.”
Sikh leaders urge India to lift ban on pilgrims traveling to Pakistan shrine
https://arab.news/zjr6f
Sikh leaders urge India to lift ban on pilgrims traveling to Pakistan shrine
- Indian government denied permission for Sikhs to cross into Pakistan for Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary, citing security concern
- Pakistani officials say Sikh and other religious pilgrims from India are still welcome to visit shrines in Pakistan under existing arrangements
Cambodia shuts Thailand border crossings over deadly fighting
- Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Trump “didn’t mention whether we should make a ceasefire” during their Friday phone call
- Across the border, a Cambodian evacuee said she was “sad” the fighting hadn’t stopped despite Trump’s intervention
BANGKOK: Cambodia shut its border crossings with Thailand on Saturday, after Bangkok denied US President Donald Trump’s claim that a truce had been agreed to end days of deadly fighting.
Violence between the Southeast Asian neighbors, which stems from a long-running dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometer (500-mile) border, has displaced around half a million people on both sides.
At least 25 people have died this week, including four Thai soldiers the defense ministry said were killed in the border area on Saturday.
The latest fatalities were followed by Phnom Penh announcing it would immediately “suspend all entry and exit movements at all Cambodia-Thailand border crossings,” the interior ministry said.
Each side blamed the other for reigniting the conflict, before Trump said a truce had been agreed.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Trump “didn’t mention whether we should make a ceasefire” during their Friday phone call.
The two leaders “didn’t discuss” the issue, Anutin told journalists on Saturday.
Trump had hailed his “very good conversation” with Anutin and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet on Friday.
“They have agreed to CEASE all shooting effective this evening, and go back to the original Peace Accord” agreed in July, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The United States, China and Malaysia, as chair of the regional bloc ASEAN, brokered a ceasefire in July after an initial five-day spate of violence.
In October, Trump backed a follow-on joint declaration between Thailand and Cambodia, touting new trade deals after they agreed to prolong their truce.
But Thailand suspended the agreement the following month after Thai soldiers were wounded by land mines at the border.
In Thailand, evacuee Kanyapat Saopria said she doesn’t “trust Cambodia anymore.”
“The last round of peace efforts didn’t work out... I don’t know if this one will either,” the 39-year-old told AFP.
Across the border, a Cambodian evacuee said she was “sad” the fighting hadn’t stopped despite Trump’s intervention.
“I am not happy with brutal acts,” said Vy Rina, 43.
- Trading blame over civilians -
Bangkok and Phnom Penh have traded accusations of attacks against civilians, with the Thai army reporting six wounded on Saturday by Cambodian rockets.
Cambodia’s information minister, Neth Pheaktra, meanwhile said Thai forces had “expanded their attacks to include civilian infrastructure and Cambodian civilians.”
A Thai navy spokesman said the air force “successfully destroyed” two Cambodian bridges used to transport weapons to the conflict zone.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Saturday urged both sides to “cease all forms of hostilities and refrain from any further military actions.”
Thailand has reported 14 soldiers killed and seven civilian deaths, while Cambodia said four civilians were killed earlier this week.
At a camp in Thailand’s Buriram, AFP journalists saw displaced residents calling relatives near the border who reported that fighting was ongoing.
Thailand’s prime minister has vowed to “continue to perform military actions until we feel no more harm and threats to our land and people.”
After the call with Trump, Anutin said “the one who violated the agreement needs to fix (the situation).”
Cambodia’s Hun Manet, meanwhile, said his country “has always been adhering to peaceful means for dispute resolutions.”
