NEW DELHI: The attack on the Nankana Sahib Gurdwara, the birthplace of Guru Nanak, in Pakistan has triggered protests among Sikhs in India. Meanwhile, a day after the attack on Gurdwara Nankana Sahib in Pakistan, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Saturday announced to send a four-member panel to visit there to take stock of the situation.
Condemning the incident, SGPC President Gobind Singh Longowal appealed to the Pakistani government to take strict action against the culprits. Besides meeting the Sikh families, he said the delegation, comprising Rajinder Singh Mehta, Roop Singh, Surjit Singh, and Rajinder Singh, would meet Pakistan's Punjab Governor and Chief Minister.
"We condemn the attack on Gurdwara Nankana Sahib and appeal to the Pakistan government to take stringent action against the culprits and also ensure the safety of Sikhs living there," Longowal told the media in Amritsar.
Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to raise the issue with his counterpart in Islamabad Imran Khan since Sikh minorities in the country were feeling extremely unsafe and insecure. The Delhi Congress and Indian Youth Congress activists also staged a protest outside the Pakistan High Commission here on Saturday.
On Friday, the Gurdwara was attacked by a huge Muslim mob while Sikh devotees were stuck inside the shrine. The Nankana Saheb attack is violative of the 1955 Pant-Mirza Agreement under which India and Pakistan are obliged "to make every effort to ensure that the places of worship" visited by members of their countries "are properly maintained and their sanctity preserved." In a late-night media briefing, Pakistan's Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee president Satpal Singh on behalf of the Sikh community asked the government to act against the hooligans to restore peace. (IANS)