1,100 Indian Sikhs arrive at Pak’s Punja Sahib for Nagar Kirtan
Islamabad: Some 1,100 Indian Sikhs have arrived in Gurdwara Punja Sahib in Pakistan’s Punjab province on Monday as part of the Nagar Kirtan, a religious procession held to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism.
The Gurdwara in Hasan Abdal, Attock district, was decorated with colourful lights and pilgrims performed various rituals including Matha Taki, Ashnan and exchanging gifts, Dawn news reported.
Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) Deputy Secretary Shrines Imran Gondal said that the Sikh pilgrims crossed the border through Wagah on October 31 via Ludhiana and Amritsar.
He said they visited Gurdwara Janamasthan, Nankana Sahib, Gurdwara Sacha Sodda Farooqabad and other temples, and the pilgrimage will conclude at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, where a gold palanquin ‘Palki Sahib’ will be installed on Tuesday.
“Around 1,300 visas issued for the Nagar Kirtan are over and above the contingent covered under the Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines 1974 between Pakistan and India,” Gondal said.
“Sikh pilgrims from India visit Pakistan for religious festivals at least four times a year under the framework of the 1974 India-Pakistan protocol on visits to religious shrines but denial to visit Pakistan to participate in religious rituals despite having valid visas is not understood.”
Gondal said the board, in collaboration with the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbhand Committee and the district administration, has made security and accommodation arrangements for Indian and local Sikh yatrees.
Meanwhile, a 178-member delegation has arrived in Pakistan from the UK to take part in the upcoming 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev — the founder of Sikhism, slated to be held at the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara on November 12.
The Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara, originally known as Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, is a highly revered Sikh shrine where Guru Nanak Dev spent 18 years of his life and is his final resting place.
Meanwhile, the Kartarpur Corridor, which will facilitate Indian Sikh pilgrims to travel to Pakistan to visit the shrine, will be inaugurated on Saturday. (IANS)
Imran to launch ‘largest-ever’ scholarship programme
Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday announced that he would launch the counry’s “largest-ever need-based” scholarship programme.
‘Ehsaas for Students’ is another project of the government’s social welfare programme ‘Ehsaas’ which aims to provide scholarships to about 2,00,000 students from lower income families over the next four years, Dawn news reported.
The government will award 50,000 scholarships every year, half of which will be granted to women, the prime minister said in a tweet.
“I will launch the largest-ever need-based undergraduate scholarship programme in the history of Pakistan. 2,00,000 scholarships will be awarded over the next four years; 50,000 every year, 50 per cent of these for women to promote human capital development under my @Ehsaas_Pk umbrella,” the prime minister said in a tweet on Monday morning.
The project aims to “ensure that no student is deprived of education because of financial need”.
Scholarships will be awarded to students admitted to any public sector university “on merit”, whose family income is “below poverty threshold”.
The programme also encourages differently-abled students to apply and/or those who hail from rural or remote areas. The scholarship would cover the students’ tuition fee and also provide them a stipend. (IANS)
Attacker bites off politician’s ear amidst Hong Kong protest
Hong Kong: A knife-wielding man slashed several people and bit off part of the ear of a pro-democracy politician in Hong Kong on Sunday, as riot police stormed several malls to thwart protesters who have been demanding government reforms for nearly five months.
The bloody attack erupted outside one of those shopping complexes, Cityplaza on Hong Kong Island.
Local media said the attacker told his victims that Hong Kong belongs to China. Television footage showed the man biting the ear of district councilor Andrew Chiu, who had tried to stop him from leaving after the stabbings. The attacker was then badly beaten up by a crowd after the attack, before police arrived.
The attack came late Sunday, a day in which protesters had been urged online to gather at seven locations, including malls, to sustain a push for political reform following a chaotic day of clashes with police on Saturday. (PTI)