Sikhs seek permission to visit Pakistan

Published October 30, 2002

ISLAMABAD, Oct 29: Harpai Bhuliar, President of the International Bhai Mardana Yadgari Kirtan Darbar Society, has made yet another attempt to persuade the Indian government to allow Sikh jathas (congregations) to visit Pakistan on the occasion of Guru Nanak Dev’s birth anniversary which falls on November 19, reports The Times of India.

He has asked Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to consider sending a Hindu-Sikh jatha to Nankana Sahib, which he said, might help ease tension between India and Pakistan, the daily said.

Talking to the paper by phone, Bhulliar claimed that the society had written six letters to the PM’s office in this regard and the only reply it got was that the situation in Pakistan was not suitable and the pilgrims could become target of communal violence there. —APP