Amritsar: A prominent Pakistani Sikh functionary and former parliamentary secretary, Mahinderpal Singh, has censured the stopping of a Sikh jatha from boarding a flight to Sharjah for its onward journey to India for a pilgrimage to Hemkund Sahib.He said such an incident had never occurred since Pakistan’s creation in 1947 and that he “smelled foul play”.Mahinderpal Singh, the former parliamentary secretary and minister for human rights and minority affairs, Punjab (Pakistan), said in a video statement circulating on social media that those responsible for the incident must be identified and held accountable.He also demanded an apology to the affected sangat and compensation for the hardship caused to the pilgrims.The Pakistani Sikh jatha, comprising pilgrims from Peshawar, Panja Sahib, Lahore and Nankana Sahib, was stopped at Faisalabad airport on Friday. The group was travelling to Sharjah, from where it was scheduled to take a connecting flight to Delhi before proceeding for the Hemkund Sahib pilgrimage.Pakistani authorities reportedly sought a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the pilgrims.After being prevented from boarding, the pilgrims remained at the airport. Subsequently, officials from the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) discussed the issue with the Sikh devotees and requested four days to resolve it. This resolution included examining whether the pilgrims could travel through the Attari-Wagah land border or use an alternative route.Speaking after reaching Nankana Sahib, Mahinderpal said he learnt about the incident during a flight layover.While condemning the incident, he said that the sangat is regarded in Sikhism as the embodiment of the Guru, and therefore, stopping pilgrims on a religious journey was deeply hurtful.Mahinderpal said he could not recall such an incident in the 79 years of Pakistan’s history. He questioned the explanation that the pilgrims were stopped either for not possessing an NOC or for not having return tickets.“If an NOC was required for any govt employee, that particular person could have been stopped while the rest of the sangat should have been allowed to travel,” he said.“Something is not right. I may be wrong, but I cannot help feeling there may have been some ill intent,” Mahinderpal said, demanding a govt investigation into whether the episode resulted from negligence, misconduct or deliberate action.“Govt should apologise to the sangat, compensate them for the hardship caused and take strict action against those found responsible,” Mahinderpal said, adding that he would investigate the matter further and come up with another video detailing his findings.
