TAXILA: Sikhs attended a rally on Thursday outside Gurdwara Punja Sahib in Hassanabdal to protest Indian intrusion at the Line of Control and express solidarity with the armed forces.

Sikh leaders addressing the rally condemned the violation of Pakistani airspace by Indian forces, saying every Sikh was a soldier of Pakistan without a uniform, and the Sikh community stands with Pakistan. They added that Pakistan could not be coerced into submission.

Participants chanted slogans in support of Pakistan and the military and against India.

They said the Sikh community living across the country, particularly in the tribal districts, were ready to fight alongside the armed forces to determine the country where their religious sites are located.

They added that overseas Sikhs would standby Pakistan in thwarting Indian aggression.

Sardar Rawinder Singh said Sikhs living across the country, particularly in the tribal districts, were in solidarity with the nation and the armed forces. He said implicating Pakistan in the Pulwama attack was a lie and an electioneering tactic by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Sikh community elder Sardar Gullbeer Singh Garnanthi said: “Sikhs have many sacred places in Pakistan, including Sri Nankana Sahib, Sri Kartarpur Sahib, Sri Panja Sahib, and Sikhs around the globe consider Pakistan their second home and stand with armed forces in any case of aggression by the Indian armed forces.”

Another community leader, Sardar Saat Naam Singh, said Pakistan was the land where the founder of the Sikhish, Sri Guru Nanak Deev Ji, was born and breathed his last, therefore Sikhs would stand with Pakistan in thwarting Indian aggression.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2019