After SGPC objection, Pakistan cancels cultural event near Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib

PTI, Mar 19, 2022, 9:51 AM IST

PTI photo

Amritsar: After objection from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Pakistan has cancelled ‘Jashan-e-Bahar’ programme that was scheduled to take place from March 23 to 27 near Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara.

After learning about the event, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami had raised a strong objection and SGPC secretary had written a letter to Muhammad Latif, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Project Management Unit (PMU) of Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, Ameer Singh, president of Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC), and Aftab Hasan Khan, Pakistan’s Acting High Commissioner to India, on Friday demanding the cancellation of the programme.

The Pakistan government took cognisance of the SGPC objection and decided to immediately cancel Jashan-e-Bahar programme, a release issued by the SGPC, the apex religious body of the Sikhs, said here.

The SGPC received the information regarding the cancellation of the programme through an email from CEO, PMU, Latif, on Friday evening, the release said.

Dhami on Thursday had urged the Pakistan government not to hold the cultural festival near Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara, saying it is against the ‘maryada’ (code of conduct) of the religious place.

Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara is the final resting place of the Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev.

Welcoming the cancellation of the programme by Pakistan, Dhami hoped that “such a mistake would not be made in future”.

“The decision by PMU, Sri Kartarpur Sahib, to stop the programme by taking the SGPC objection seriously, is in the favour of the historical significance of the shrine and the maryada (code of conduct) of the Guru’s house. For the same, we thank the Pakistan Government and Evacuee Trust Property Board including the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee,” the release quoted Dhami as saying.