Nankana Sahib gurudwara vandalised in Pakistan; MEA condemns incident, calls on Islamabad to ensure safety of Sikh community

India “strongly condemned” the vandalism of the Gurudwara Nankana Sahib in Pakistan on Friday evening and called on Islamabad to take immediate steps to ensure the safety and security of the Sikh community in the locality. According to initial reports, an angry group of local residents pelted stones at the gurdwara. The group, reports said, was led by the family of a boy who had allegedly abducted a Sikh girl Jagjit Kaur, who is also the daughter of the gurdwara’s reader. Akali Dal MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa shared the video which, he said, showed an angry mob shouting anti-Sikh slogans outside Nankana Sahib. “Live footage from Nankana Sahib where an angry Muslim mob is outside Gurdwara Sahib and raising anti-Sikh slogans,” Sirsa said in a tweet.

LIVE Footage from Nankana Sahib where an angry Muslim mob is outside Gurdwara Sahib and raising anti-Sikh slogans

I urge @ImranKhanPTI Ji to take immediate action on such communal incidents that are increasing the insecurity in the minds of Sikhs of Pak@thetribunechd @PTI_News pic.twitter.com/IlxxBjhpO2

— Manjinder Singh Sirsa (@mssirsa) January 3, 2020

Sirsa also urged Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan to take immediate action “on such communal incidents that are increasing the insecurity in the minds of Sikhs of Pakistan”. Police rushed to the scene of the incident to control the people who had gathered, ANI reported. “India strongly condemns these wanton acts of destruction and desecration of the holy place,”  the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement, adding that members of the minority Sikh community in Pakistan have been subjected to acts of violence in the holy city of Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev. “These reprehensible actions followed the forcible abduction and conversion of Jagjit Kaur, the Sikh girl who was kidnapped from her home in the city of Nankana Sahib in August last year. India strongly condemns these wanton acts of destruction and desecration of the holy place. “We call upon the Government of Pakistan to take immediate steps to ensure safety, security, and welfare of the members of the Sikh community. Strong action must be taken against the miscreants who indulged in the desecration of the holy Gurdwara and attacked members of the minority Sikh community,” the MEA added.   With inputs from agencies