SGPC likely to ban solo women travellers in pilgrim jathas to Pakistan
PTC News Desk: Following reports that Sikh pilgrim Sarbjit Kaur, who was initially believed to be “missing,” had converted to Islam and taken the name Noor Hussain after marrying Sheikhupura resident Nasir Hussain in Pakistan, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has announced plans to prohibit lone women from joining jathas to Pakistan and to introduce stricter travel rules. The SGPC stated that it will no longer recommend solo women travellers for such visits.
SGPC secretary Partap Singh said the committee was compelled to reconsider its policy because this is the second incident of its kind. In 2018, another pilgrim, Kiran Bala, had also stayed back in Pakistan after converting to Islam and marrying a Lahore resident. He added that although the SGPC initially objected to Sarbjit’s solo travel, they allowed it after she produced recommendations from her village sarpanch and nambardar, enabling her passport to be forwarded to the embassy.
He further claimed that police and intelligence agencies failed to properly verify her background, as three cases were pending against her and nine against her two sons. Under the 1974 India-Pakistan accord, up to 3,000 pilgrims can travel to Pakistan on major Sikh religious occasions.
Sarbjit Kaur, a resident of Kapurthala, had been part of a 1,932-member jatha that crossed into Pakistan via the Attari-Wagah border on November 4. When the group returned on November 13, she was missing.
This led jatha leader Bibi Gurinder Kaur to immediately contact SGPC member from Sultanpur Lodhi, Gurpreet Kaur, who had recommended Sarbjit’s name along with nine others. Gurpreet explained that checking criminal records is the responsibility of the police and intelligence agencies before clearing foreign travel; SGPC members only provide basic recommendations.
After Sarbjit was reported missing, Gurpreet visited her home and found she belonged to a well-off family with a large house, two cars, and a tractor. Her married sons told her they were not on speaking terms with their mother, and that their father had been living in the UK for the past 15 years.
- PTC NEWS
