World Bank President Ajay Pal Singh Banga visits ancestral home in Pakistan's Punjab

As part of his visit to Pakistan, World Bank (WB) President Ajay Pal Singh Banga visited his ancestral home in Khushab district of Punjab province on Tuesday.

Banga reached ‘Gali Sikhan wali’ in Khushab, a town in Punjab, Pakistan, located near the Jhelum River between Sargodha and Mianwali. It is also known as the “City of Soldiers” for its contribution to the armed forces.

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World Bank president Ajay Pal Singh Banga visits Gurdwara Sri Panja Sahib in Pakistan

On his arrival, Banga was received by Chairman Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), Khushab, Qamar Zaman, Additional Secretary Shrines Nasir Mushtaq, alongwith the local administrative officials.

Incidentally, Banga’s father, Harbhajan Singh Banga, a retired lieutenant-general who served in the Indian Army, grew up in this place.

Talking to The Tribune on the phone, Nasir Mushtaq said Banga’s visit was an epitome of a message of peace and cultural connection.

“We welcome him as a ‘son of the soil’. Emotions ran high when he visited the ‘haveli’ where his forefathers lived before the partition,” he said.

The local officials arranged a copy of the original revenue records of the property and presented it to him as a token of remembrance.

Naris Mushtaq said Banga also visited the Sikh shrine, known as Gurdwara Singh Sabha, located in the vicinity. This gurdwara is also being maintained by the ETPB.

“Banga’s grandfather, S Ishar Singh, and uncle, Kartar Singh, in 1939, had donated in memory of their mother when this gurdwara was being raised. A marble plaque bearing their name and contribution was still there. We presented him a replica of the same marble plate and a three-D model of the gurdwara. Besides this, a special coin dedicated to the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev was also presented to him”, he said.

Nasir Mushtaq briefed Banga on the steps taken for the protection, maintenance, and restoration of Sikh religious heritage.

Banga arrived in Pakistan on February 1. During a four-day official visit to Pakistan, Banga held high-level meetings with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, and other key ministers and senior officials from the finance and economic reforms department, outlining conditions for long-term financial support.

At the centre of the discussions was a proposed Country Partnership Framework under which Pakistan could receive up to $20 billion over the next 10 years, subject to strict compliance with governance, taxation, and institutional reforms.

Also, on his itinerary was a visit to the revered Sikh shrine Gurdwara Sri Panja Sahib in Hasan Abdal with his wife Anita Banga. They also visited the Taxila Museum in Rawalpindi.