Pakistan's betrayal: Imran Khan govt eliminates management rights of Kartarpur Sahib from PSGPC

In a shocking development, the Imran Khan-led Pakistan government has officially taken over the entire control of Gurudwara Darbar Sahib, the sacred place of the Sikhs located at Kartarpur.For the very first time, the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) has lost the management of any Gurudwara in Pakistan. 

The Pakistan Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) on November 3 (Tuesday) officially took away the entire control of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur in Punjab's Narowal District from the PSGPC and gave it to Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), a Muslim body, headed by Muhammad Tariq Khan. According to the official order, Pakistan has termed it as 'Project Business Plan' to be looked after by nine officials and staffs of Evacuee Trust Property Board.

The move comes just ahead of Pakistan's Sikh Gurudwara Prabhandhak Committee (PSGPC) likely to organize the first anniversary of the Kartarpur Gurudwara opening on November 9. According to an official order dated November 3: "Consequent after the approval of Project Management Unit (PMU) Kartarpur Corridor by ECC of the Cabinet, and ratified by the Cabinet (conveyed by MoRA…dated 23.10.2020), the competent authority has been very happy to establish Project Management Unit (PMU), a self-financing body, for Management and Maintenance of Gurdwara Dardar Sahib Kartarpur (GADSK) beneath the administrative control of ETPB." According to sources, ETPB has appointed as much as nine officials and staff members at the newly set up PMU Kartarpur Sahib with out a single Sikh member. 

The officials are - Muhammad Tariq Khan, AS Shrines, ETPB as CEO OPS (additional charge); Abdullah Awais, Assistant Administrator as Deputy Secretary Admn/ Finance OPS; Haider Muktar, Accountant; ETPB as Assistant Accounts Officer; Ahsan Khan, ASO, ETPB as Security Officer; Haider All Bangash, Computer Operator, ETPB; Khushnood Shoukat, UDC (Survey), ETPB; Arshad Guijar, LDC (Accounts), ETPB; Adil Ali, Naib Qasid, ETP and Tanveer Ahmed, Driver, ETPB.

The order added: "All officers/ official…are relieved from their duties with immediate effect with directions to join their new place of posting forthwith." India has described Pakistan's decision as "highly condemnable" and said that it runs against the religious sentiments of the Sikh community.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said India received representations from the Sikh community expressing grave concern over your choice to transfer the management of the gurudwara from the Pakistan Sikh Gurudwara Prabhandhak Committee to the administrative control of the Evacuee Trust Property Board, a non-Sikh body."This unilateral decision by Pakistan is highly condemnable and runs against the spirit of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor as also the religious sentiments of the Sikh community most importantly," MEA said.

Former Punjab minister, Dr Daljit S Cheema in a tweet demanded the reversal of your choice and restoring the proper of sewa back to PSGPC."SAD condemned & demanded reversal of decision of Pakistan to take full control of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur from PSGPC & hand it to a fresh govt body with not an individual Sikh member on it. This is grave attack on fundamental rights of Sikh minority in Pakistan," he said.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Tarun Chug also questioned the secularism of the Imran Khan government and said the move has hurt the sentiments of the Sikhs and Hindus across the world.The 4-km long Kartarpur corridor links Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur in India to Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan - the ultimate resting host to Sikh faith's founder Guru Nanak Dev.

Kartarpur marks the most important phase in the life span of Guru Nanak Devji - the founder of Sikhism and to begin the ten gurus of the sect. Located at the west bank of river Ravi, Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji spent the last 18 years of his life in Kartarpur village, now part of Pakistan.The historic corridor to 1 of Sikhism's holiest shrines, Gurudwara Darbar Sahib was opened this past year allowing Indian pilgrims rare visa-free usage of the site in Pakistan.