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| 29 September 2004 | Wednesday | 13 Shaban 1425 |
Pakistan asked to protect Sikh shrine
NEW DELHI, Sept 28: India on Tuesday called on Pakistan to take measures to protect a Sikh shrine after a group of students pelted a building with stones at the site last weekend.
The students were angered by plans to convert a college building at the complex in Nankana Sahib, which encompasses the birthplace of the founder of Sikhism who was born in 1469, into a residential hall to house pilgrims.
"We have seen reports of the incident at Gurudwara Nankana Sahib. We hope the government of Pakistan will take the necessary measures for the protection of this holy shrine," a foreign ministry spokesman said.
The government's comments followed a statement by the chief of the top Sikh shrines committee, Bibi Jagir Kaur, in the Indian state of Punjab calling the incident a "matter of grave concern for the entire Sikh religion."
The government of Pakistan's Punjab province on Monday described the incident as "unfortunate" and said it was determined to punish the culprits. A senior provincial government official said authorities would wait until a new building was constructed for the college before vacating the old one.
The incident came a day after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf held talks on the sidelines of a UN General Assembly meeting in New York and agreed to push ahead with a nascent peace process between the two nations. -AFP
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