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World Sikh Parliament Applauds the UN Chief António Guterres’ Visit to Kartarpur Sahib

February 21, 2020 | By Sikh Siyasat Bureau

London: The UN chief, who was on a visit to Pakistan visited the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur Sahib and the Kartarpur Corridor along with the local Sikh community members on February 18.

The historic Gurdwara Sahib is located in Narowal district of West Punjab and the Kartarpur Sahib corridor connects the historic site of Kartarpur Sahib with Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district of East Punjab.

The World Sikh Parliament has applauded the UN secretary general Antonio Gueterres’s visit.

During his visit the UN chief said the opening of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor is a practical example of Pakistan’s desire for peace and inter-faith harmony as he visited the revered Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Ji.

Bhai Joga Singh, the speaker of the World Sikh Parliament said, “The UN chief appreciated the facilities being provided to Sikh pilgrims at the complex. He also made a note that World should look at Pakistan through a wider frame. The UN chief should also know that Sikhs are recognized as a separate religion in Pakistan which is not the case in India where majority of the Sikhs reside today”.

The Coordinator of the World Sikh Parliament said, “Power relations have progressively lead to greater impunity. Conflicts have been made more complex. The Sikhs around the globe are targets because of their identity. The minorities in India are undergoing horrific violations of international humanitarian law and human rights abuses. We are thankful to his excellency Mr. António Gueterres who visited the holiest shrine. We also recommend that he visits India and hears first-hand the current situation of the minority groups, especially those from Kashmir who are locked down since August 2019.”

António Gueterres, is the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. He took office on 1st January 2017 and has since then witnessed the suffering of the most vulnerable people on earth. The World Sikh Parliament Coordinator, Himmat Singh added, “Mr Guterres is known to be a peace broker, a bridge-builder, a promoter of reform and innovation. Well-known for his work on conflicts in Syria and Iraq, and other countries. We invite him to look at the continuous abuses against the Sikh community in India after its partition in 1947. The Sikhs have realized that their future and survival is only through an independent country of their own between India and Pakistan and seek the assistance of the United Nations to intervene”

The “Corridor of Peace” was inaugurated on 9th November 2019 on the eve of the 550th birth anniversary of the Sri Guru Nanak Saheb. The Corridor links Gurdwara Kartarpur Saheb with Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak, across the border in India.

“This is the best symbol that we can give for a world in peace and for a world in which there is mutual respect and there is the acceptance of what is different” Mr. Guterres told reporters today, stressing that “diversity is a blessing, a richness, not a threat”.

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Related Topics: Antonio Guterrers, World Sikh Parliament

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