A minority Sikh member of the provincial Assembly of Punjab in Pakistan today met the Jathedar of the Akal Takht at Golden Temple here and requested him to visit the neighbouring country at the earliest to take stock of the problems faced by the Sikh community there.
Ramesh Singh Arora, a minority quota member of the Provincial Assembly in Pakistan, met Gyani Gurbachan Singh, the Jathedar of Akal Takht (the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs) and apprised him of the problems being faced by Sikhs in Pakistan as regards matters concerning, among others, the running of gurdwaras.
Arora said that this year, the Pakistan Sikh community may avoid taking out a religious procession on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, due to serious threats from various outlawed outfits.
He said that the Jathedar had agreed to visit Pakistan along with Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee preachers who would help Pakistani Sikhs learn about Sikh rituals and literature.
Arora said that it was neither possible nor feasible for each Sikh in Pakistan to visit India due to strict visa norms. In such circumstances, SGPC preachers should visit Pakistan more frequently, he added.
Arora became the first Sikh in close to 67 years to enter Pakistan's biggest provincial Assembly.
A renowned social worker and leader of the Sikh community in Pakistan, Arora said he had come to India with a mission to use the shared religious linkages to further peace and trade between Pakistan and India.
Pakistan government had appointed Arora as a member of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.
