Pak denied permission to Sikh pilgrims to visit country to mark death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh: SGPC

A group of Indian Sikh Pilgrims, also known as 'Jatha', has been denied permission by Pakistan to visit the country to mark the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, citing the pandemic.

Pakistan has denied permission to a batch of Sikh pilgrims to visit the country to celebrate the death anniversary of 19th-century Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh, citing the Covid-19 pandemic, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) said on Thursday. According to SGPC, the group of Indian Sikh Pilgrims, also known as 'Jatha', was scheduled to leave for Pakistan on June 21 and return on June 30 after observing the death anniversary of the Sikh ruler on June 29. “The Yatra Department of SGPC had a telephonic talk with Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee's president Satwant Singh, who informed that due to the Covid-19 situation, the jatha of Indian Sikh pilgrims going to Pakistan to observe the death anniversary of Sher-e-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh has not been given permission by the Pakistan government," SGPC media assistant secretary Kulwinder Singh Ramdas said.