Pakistan Government forcibly takes over control of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur
“All officers/ official…are relieved from their duties with immediate effect with directions to join their new place of posting forthwith” the official order by Government of Pakistan read
The Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) has lost the management of Gurdwara Kartarpur to Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) of Pakistan.
Pakistan’s Evacuee Trust Property Board, a statutory board of the Government of Pakistan which administers evacuee properties left behind by Hindus and Sikhs who migrated to India after partition.
The Pakistan Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) on November 3 (Tuesday) officially took away the full control of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur in Punjab’s Narowal District from Sikh Gurudwara Prabhandhak Committee and gave it to Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), a Muslim body. The ETPB manages religious properties and shrines of Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan.
“Consequent upon 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 pleased to establish Project Management Unit (PMU), a self-financing body, for Management and Maintenance of Gurdwara Dardar Sahib Kartarpur (GADSK) under the administrative control of ETPB.” the official order by Government of Pakistan read.
It added, “All officers/ official…are relieved from their duties with immediate effect with directions to join their new place of posting forthwith.”
Earlier on October 29, the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) had announced that they will celebrate the first anniversary of the inauguration of the historic Kartarpur Corridor on November 9.
However, the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) had distanced itself from the PSGPC’s initiative, saying “it has not received any instructions to celebrate the first anniversary of the inauguration of the corridor so far.”
