Pakistan again denies Indian envoy entry into Gurdwara Panja Sahib; India protests

NEW DELHI: Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Ajay Bisaria has been denied entry into Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Lahore for the second time in three months, despite having an official permit from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad.

Smita Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 23

Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Ajay Bisaria has been denied entry into Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Lahore for the second time in three months, despite having an official permit from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad.

Nearly 300 Sikh pilgrims from India are visiting Lahore to observe the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh at Gurdwara Dera Sahib. The Indian High Commissioner was to meet the Sikh jattha as part of his consular duties but was denied entry into the gurdwara by security personnel.

India summoned the Pakistani Deputy High Commissioner in New Delhi to lodge a protest. “Indian organisers, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), when contacted, expressed concern and dismay at the incident. The visiting pilgrims had asked Pakistan organisers to facilitate a meeting with the Indian High Commissioner and High Commission officials,” said the Ministry of External Affairs, calling it a violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and 1974 bilateral Protocol on visit to religious shrines.

However, Dr Mohammad Faisal, spokesman for Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Bisaria himself cancelled the visit. “Sikh pilgrims were protesting against maltreatment in India and release of controversial movies. (The) Indian High Commissioner was informed about the heightened pilgrim sentiments and he agreed to cancel his visit due to this concern,” he tweeted.

Sources suggest the Pakistani side is still citing alleged hostile sentiments among sections of the visiting Sikh pilgrims from across the globe owing to controversial film “Nanak Shah Fakir”. The same argument was used in April too when Bisaria was scheduled to meet visiting Sikh pilgrims on Baisakhi.

Subsequently, India accused Pakistan of making inflammatory statements and displaying posters at various places and shrines where the pilgrims were visiting to incite Khalistani sentiments. “Concerns have also been conveyed at repeated attempts by entities in Pakistan to extend support to secessionist movements in India and incite the Indian pilgrims, and Pakistan authorities asked to ensure that no such activity is carried out from Pakistan soil,” said the MEA in a statement on Saturday.

Calling it “unfortunate”, Manjit Singh GK, president of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), said: “Pakistan’s act of stopping an Indian diplomat from paying respects at Panja Sahib is against the tenets of Sikhism and the philosophy of Guru Nanak.”