ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday pledged his administration would devise a new strategy to ensure the welfare of the local Sikh community and improve facilities for visiting pilgrims, following a meeting with the head of a prominent US-based Sikh organization.
Pakistan is home to some of the holiest sites of the Sikh faith and has taken steps in recent years to show goodwill toward more than 20 million Sikhs in neighboring India despite mounting diplomatic and military tensions between the two countries.
The meeting also comes at a time when Islamabad seeks to reinforce the protection of its own religious minorities following incidents of violence targeting groups like Christians and Hindus, a matter that has drawn international scrutiny.
Pakistan is home to more than 15,000 Sikhs and every year Sikh pilgrims come to the country to visit Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of the founder of their faith, along with other sacred places in their religion scattered across the country.
“We are trying to provide all possible facilities to the Sikh community coming to Pakistan,” Sharif said, according to a statement released by his office, after a meeting with Jaspreet Singh, President of the Sikh community in the US.
“We will formulate a strategy for the welfare of the Sikh community living in Pakistan and provide more facilities to Sikh pilgrims from all over the world.”
The statement added that Sharif highlighted how Pakistan is home to many holy religious sites visited by members of the Sikh community from around the world.
The meeting took place just days after nearly 2,000 Sikh pilgrims from India visited Pakistan to participate in the birth anniversary celebrations of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev Ji from Nov. 4 to 13.
They also visited other sacred sites in Pakistan including Kartarpur, where Guru Nanak is buried.
The Kartarpur Corridor, a route opened in 2019, allows Indian Sikhs to visit the temple without needing any visa.
Much of Sikh heritage is located in Pakistan.
When Pakistan was created in 1947, much of these places ended up on the Pakistani side of the border, while most of the region’s Sikhs remained on the other side of the border.
