By Muhammad Luqman
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced that his government would issue multiple and on-arrival visas to the Sikh community and provide them maximum possible facilities during pilgrimage to their holy sites.
“I assure that you will be issued multiple visas… This is our responsibility. We will facilitate you rather will give you visas at airport,” the prime minister said addressing the International Sikh Convention at the Governor House in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore.,
“(We) will give you multiple visa to facilitate your journey to and from India,” he said.
“Kartarpur is your Madina and Nankana Sahib is your Makkah,” he said, addressing the International Sikh Convention at Governor House in Lahore on Monday. “We [Muslims] can’t even imagine someone keeping us away from Makkah or Madina,” the premier said amid applause from the Sikhs in the audience.
The convention was attended by Punjab Governor Chaudhry Sarwar, federal and provincial cabinet members, and Sikh pilgrims from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Europe and other countries.
The prime minister said after coming into power, his government realized the difficulties faced by foreigners to get Pakistani visas intending to visit the country for pilgrimage or tourism.
“Though our government has changed the visa regime, the mindset of creating hurdles will gradually diminish,” he added.
Imran Khan said that Pakistan has decided to complete the process of issuance of visas to Sikh pilgrims from India and around the world to attend the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in Nankana Sahib.
He said this is not a favour, it was Pakistan’s obligation.
Speaking about the conflict in Kashmir, PM Khan slammed the ruling BJP party in India for following the “totalitarian ideology” of the RSS.
“I still have friends there [in India],” PM Khan said. “But the direction the RSS is taking India on, no one can stop them.”
Recalling his first tour to India as a cricketer, the premier said that they [Pakistanis] were made to think that India was an enemy after hearing the horror stories of the Partition, but we were surprised to see the love and respect of the people.
“They gave us a lot of respect,” he said.
“War doesn’t resolve disputes. It is never a solution. Even if you win, it is a defeat because it takes years to recover from a war,” he said.
PM Khan said that he extended Pakistan’s friendship to Indian PM Narendra Modi after becoming the prime minister in 2018.
“I told Narendra Modi that Pakistan and India face similar problems like poverty and unemployment,” he said.
“We are sitting on a ticking bomb. Our glaciers are melting and if we don’t take joint action, our rivers will go dry,” he said.
Commenting on the state of minorities in India, PM Khan said that people were being lynched in India for possessing cows. “No religion justifies violence,” he said, adding that every religion talks about protecting human life and helping people.
“Humanity, mercy and justice are the three values that differentiate between a society of humans and animals,” he said.
“Does any religion allow the inhumanity being shown to Kashmiris? Hinduism does not,” he said. You only go to such an extent, the premier said, when you do not perceive the other party as human.
