லாகூர் சீக்கிய கோவில், இந்திய அரசு நடவடிக்கை

இந்திய வெளியுறவுத்துறை அமைச்சர் பிரணாப் முகர்ஜி அவர்கள் பாகிஸ்தானில் சீக்கிய கோவிலை முஸ்லீம் கும்பல் ஆக்கிரமித்துள்ளதை பற்றிய அறிக்கை ஒன்றை தூதரக்த்திடம் கேட்டுள்ளார்.

18ஆம் நூற்றாண்டு சீக்கிய கோவிலுக்குள் நுழைந்து ஆக்கிரமித்துள்ள இந்த கும்பல், அந்த இடத்தை மீண்டும் சீக்கியர்களுக்கு கொடுக்க மாட்டோம் என்று அறிவித்துள்ளன்ர்.

Govt to take up Lahore gurdwara issue with Pakistan
24 Aug 2007, 0000 hrs IST,TNN

NEW DELHI: External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said the government has sought a report from its high commission in Pakistan on an alleged takeover of a Sikh shrine in Lahore by hooligans.

Replying to a mention made by SAD member Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Mukherjee said once the government was aware of the facts, it would take up the matter with Pakistan and ensure that the shrine was released in case it was taken over by hooligans.

Reports from Pakistan said an 18th century Sikh shrine at Naulakha Bazaar in Lahore had been taken over by hooligans who had allegedly replaced the gurdwara's religious symbols with Islamic slogans.

The report had quoted Mampal Singh, a representative of the Sikh community in Pakistan, as saying, "Hooligans have taken over the gurdwara, claiming it as their own, and have stopped us from entering the premises for the past two months." Singh also claimed that the Evacuee Trust Property Board, which controls the gurdwara, was supporting hooligans' claim and not taking any action.

The report, which appeared in a Pakistani daily, had also quoted one of the hooligans as saying that they would not "vacate the gurdwara and the entry of Sikhs was prohibited".