Chandigarh, Nov 14: A woman Sikh pilgrim went missing from the group of devotees who had travelled to Pakistan on November 4 to celebrate the Parkash Purab (birth anniversary) of Guru Nanak Dev.
The pilgrim has been identified as Sarabjit Kaur, a resident of Kapurthala district, Punjab. As per official records, the woman travelled to Pakistan on November 4 with a group of 1,923 pilgrims via the Attari border in Amritsar under a bilateral agreement facilitating visits to religious shrines.
The ‘jatha’ was led by Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj of Akal Takht Sahib. After spending 10 days visiting various gurudwaras in Pakistan, the group of 1,922 returned to India on Thursday evening. According to immigration records, Sarabjit Kaur had gone missing from the group.
Her name was not found in the records of Pakistan’s immigration while exiting, nor in India’s immigration records for re-entry. After her disappearance, intelligence agencies in both India and Pakistan are trying to trace her whereabouts.
Sources in the Indian government told IANS that the Indian mission in Pakistan is in touch with the Pakistani authorities. On November 4, the Sikh pilgrims went to Nankana Sahib in Pakistan to celebrate Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s Prakash Parv.
However, Pakistani officials reportedly denied 14 Hindus from Delhi and Lucknow from travelling with the Sikh group. Last month, the Union government granted permission to the Sikh pilgrims to undertake a 10-day journey to the Nankana Sahib shrine in Pakistan and mark the birth anniversary, almost two weeks after it refused permission for the holy trip, citing security concerns.
Every year, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) sends a delegation of Sikh devotees to Pakistan to pay obeisance at various historic gurudwaras associated with the Sikh faith, especially on the occasion of Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s Parkash Purb.
IANS
