125-year-old Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha Sahib recently witnessed a wall collapse due to its dilapidated condition
Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha Sahib located in Farooqabad, Sheikhupura District of Punjab. Photo APP/file
Prime Minister’s Coordinator of National Paigham-e-Aman Committee Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi on Saturday announced the reconstruction and preservation of a Sikh dharamsala in Punjab’s Sheikhupura after a wall recently collapsed due to structural weakness.
The 125-year-old Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha Sahib located in Farooqabad became the center of a controversy following a partial structural collapse and subsequent illegal demolition by a local businessman.
Addressing the public after jointly touring the dilapidated Farooqabad dharamsala with community members, Ashrafi said the committee representing leaders from a number of faiths and sects had decided to restore the cultural heritage.
He said he visited the religious site to express solidarity with the Sikh community and assured its members that the building would be protected by the provincial and federal governments.
Ashrafi stressed that the government and the committee would not allow anyone to enter the holy place for Sikhs.
Emphasizing that Pakistan was home to people of multiple faiths and sects, Ashrafi said no one had the right to insult anyone’s sect, religion, place of worship or sacred artefacts.
He asked the public to avoid entering the dilapidated building until the renovation and restoration work is completed.
Read: ETPB rejects social media claims of Gurdwara Singh Sabha demolition in Sheikhupura
Maulana Zahid Mahmood Qasmi, Hafiz Maqbool Ahmed, Allama Ghulam Mustafa Haideri, Maulana Farooq Azam, Maulana Aslam Siddiqui, Maulana Salman Ashrafi, Maulana Shahid Saeedi, Maulana Mufti Umar Farooq, Bishop Kamran, Pandit Lal, Sarjit Saringh, Sarjit Sardar, Amarjeet Singh, Sardar Gulab Singh, Sardar Jakran Singh and the President of Anjuman-e-Tajiran Farooqabad, Sheikh Shahzad Anjum. was present during the trip and issued the joint statement underlined by Ashrafi.
The joint statement issued by the peace committee also highlighted that the government would not allow any change in the status or ownership of a temple, mosque, gurdwara, dharamsala or land belonging to a particular religion or sect.
Meanwhile, the leaders also took the opportunity to reject India’s baseless propaganda, stressing that the Sikh holy site was under the control of the community itself.
Read more: Indian Sikh pilgrims praise Pakistan’s hospitality and seek reopening of Kartarpur corridor
A day earlier, the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) had dismissed reports on social media regarding the alleged demolition of Gurdwara Singh Sabha.
In a clarification issued by the board, it said the demolition was limited to two shops adjacent to the inactive Gurdwara Singh Sabha, where the tenants demolished the structures without obtaining permission from the ETPB.
According to the board, district officials intervened immediately after receiving information about the unauthorized work on June 24, halting the demolition, sealing the site and initiating legal proceedings against those responsible.
