‘Small family’ trying to disrupt Muslim-Sikh harmony, says Pakistan Sikh body chief

By Asia Samachar Team | MALAYSIA|

The mob demonstration at the main Nankana Sahib gurdwara yesterday was an attempt by a ‘small family’ to disrupt the growing Muslim-Sikh harmony in the nation, especially in the aftermath of the major 550th celebration of Guru Nanak towards the end of last year.

The family had also attempted to use an existing contentious conversion issue of a Sikh girl as an ‘excuse’ to create a spark.

“The issue was fronted by a small family,” Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC) president Satwant Singh told Asia Samachar in a telephone conversation.

“The Pakistan government has done much to enhance Muslim-Sikh bhaichara (brotherhood) in the recent past. Maybe some people are unhappy with it.”

When asked, Satwant said the family did not have any political or madrasah connections.

In a video released on his personal Facebook page, Satwant, who took the help of PSGPC in July 2019, had appealed to the Pakistan government to take stern action on the perpetrators of the Friday demonstration and ensure the safety of Sikhs nationwide.

In the incident, a scores of charged protesters staged a sit-in outside Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, also known as the Gurdwara Janam Asthan, after the Muslim Friday prayers.

They were led by the family of a man, Ehsan, who was accused of forcibly converting a Sikh woman, Jagjit Kaur, earlier this year, reported Pakistani newspaper The Dawn.

In video clips circulated after the Friday demonstration, the lead demonstrator, going by the Facebook handle of ‘Imranchishti Baba’, threatened to build a mosque in the place of the current gurdwara.