Islamabad: In a landmark move, Ramesh Singh Arora, the first Sikh who was nominated by the Pakistan Muslim League (N), was sworn in as a member of the Punjab Provincial Assembly in Lahore on Saturday.
Mr Arora has termed it an honour to be the PML (N)'s representative, adding he would now be able to raise critical issues related to the safety and well-being of minorities in Pakistan on a priority basis.
Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has also nominated Swarn Singh, former president of the Pakistan Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC) to the Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. He is the second Sikh to be appointed as a member of the provincial assembly. The Sikh diaspora has welcomed the move, saying appointment of Sikhs in Assemblies in Pakistan will go a long way towards safeguarding the rights of the Sikh community.Now with Pakistan all set to have two Sikhs as members of the provincial assembly, this will give a platform for Sikhs to take up various Sikh issues, including the upkeeping of the Gurdwaras situated in Pakistan.
Notably, there are 172 historical Sikh shrines situated in Pakistan. However, Pakistan allowed the Sikh devotees from abroad to visit only six of them.
Recently, Pakistan had denied visas to members of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) following which the organization responsible for the upkeep of gurdwaras in India has already registered its protests with Pakistan.
The Sikh diaspora has welcomed this move, saying the appointment of Sikhs in Pakistan assembly would help in solving contentious issues and now the pilgrim visa reforms can be taken up.
The diaspora, including American Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee Coordinator Dr. Pritpal Singh, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, former President of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee Paramjit Singh Sarna and Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Partap Singh Bajwa have also hailed Pakistan''s move.
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