Daily Times

Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) Secretary Tariq Wazir on Tuesday said the board was working hard to build and promote interfaith harmony in the country by taking special measures for the protection of minorities along with rituals, celebrations and worship and holy sites of communities belonging to every religion.

He expressed these views while talking exclusively to Daily Times. He added that special arrangements were made for the Sikh pilgrims who had come to Pakistan for the death anniversary rituals of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and ETPB had organised their free visits to the holy Sikh sites in Pakistan.

While talking about the security of Sikhs in Pakistan and those pilgrims who visit Pakistan on religious occasions, Tariq Wazir said, “We have always tried our best to arrange foolproof security for the pilgrims visiting Pakistan through ETPB. This time as well the local security including Elite force and Anti-Terrorist Squads were deployed to look after the Sikhs and they traveled to the holy sites under strict security.”

About the special arrangements made for the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Wazir said, “We had received the pilgrims on June 21 at Wagah Railway Station where they arrived through a special train for the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. They went to Gurdwara Panja Sahib Hassan Abdal under our security and management.”

All their trips, traveling and lodging was arranged by the ETPB for free. Later they visited Gurdwara Janam Asthan Nankana Sahib and Gurdwara Sacha Sauda in Farooqabad and then they came back to Lahore Gurdwara Dera Sahib and stayed there for a day.

“We had made special arrangements for their stay inside the Gurdwara and they were extremely glad to be there at their holy site. Later they moved to Gurdawara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur Narowal and Gurdwara Rorri Sahib Eminabad, district Gujranwala. June 29 was the main death anniversary ceremonial service which they attended and went back to India the next morning via special train,” he said, adding that this year there were 283 pilgrims who came to attend the death anniversary.

Wazir said that as per the 1974 bilateral protocol between Islamabad and New Delhi, the Pakistani High Commission in India had issued visas to the Sikh yatrees for attending the death anniversary of the maharaja from June 21-30.

Wazir was of the opinion that Pakistan is a country where the minorities and their worship places are respected and protected and stated that the ETPB was also promoting the message of love, peace and tolerance.

“The hospitality of Sikh pilgrims was our responsibility which we have done successfully,” he said. “Previously also, when the Sikhs visited Pakistan, they were overwhelmed by the respect, hospitality and love shown by our people to them,” he added.

Published in Daily Times, July 4^th 2018.