Sikh pilgrims to arrive for death anniversaries of Guru Arjun Dev Ji, Ranjit Singh

Sikh pilgrims from assorted countries are owed to statesman arriving successful Pakistan connected June 8 to commemorate the decease anniversaries of Guru Arjun Dev Ji and Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

India’s Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and Delhi Committee person erstwhile again refused to travel to Pakistan owed to differences implicit the “Nanak Shahi” calendar and alternatively observed the decease day connected May 23.

In Pakistan, the decease day of Sikh Guru Arjun Dev Ji is to beryllium observed connected June 16 astatine Gurdwara Dera Sahib successful Lahore whereas the Urs of Maharaja Ranjit Singh is to beryllium observed connected June 29.

Guru Arjun Dev Ji is the 5th Guru of the community. He was calved successful 1563 and was anointed arsenic a Guru aft the decease of his begetter Guru Ram Das Ji successful 1581, erstwhile helium was 18 years of age. In 1606, nether the reign of Mughal emperor Jahangir, Guru Arjun Dev Ji was held captive and helium passed distant successful the aforesaid twelvemonth owed to utmost torture. Although legend has it that Guru Arjun Dev Ji was allowed to instrumentality a bath successful River Ravi soon aft being imprisoned. As thousands watched him instrumentality a beatified dip, the Guru entered the stream and ne'er emerged retired of the water. The spot successful River Ravi wherever Guru Arjun Dev Ji is believed to person died has been preserved and is marked by a good built there.

Some historians judge that Guru Arjun Dev Ji was captured by Jahangir for supporting Jahangir’s lad Khusro, who was rebelling against his begetter for accession to the throne. Meanwhile, according to Sikh tradition, 1 of Jahangir’s Hindu advisors, namely Chand Vimal, wished to get his girl joined to Guru Arjun Dev Ji’s son, and erstwhile the Guru refused to judge the proposal, the Hindu advisor incited Jahangir against the Sikh guru and conspired against him.

According to Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee caput Sardar Amir Singh, the Urs of Guru Arjun Dev Ji volition beryllium held connected June 16. Singh said that antithetic sangats, including from India, volition beryllium arriving from overseas but the fig of foreigners who volition beryllium visiting cannot beryllium confirmed conscionable yet. The guests from India are to get connected June 8 done the Wagah Border and are slated to instrumentality backmost connected June 18. Another radical from India is to get connected June 21 for the decease day of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, said Amir Singh, adding that the main lawsuit for this volition beryllium held connected June 29 and the Indian visitors volition instrumentality backmost to their state the pursuing day.

UN representatives constitute letter

Four peculiar representatives of the United Nations person written to the authorities of Pakistan, highlighting expanding atrocities against number communities, including the Ahmadi spiritual minority.

The UN representatives who penned the missive see Special Rapporteur connected Minority Issues Fernand de Varennes, Special Rapporteur connected the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur connected the Independence of Judges and Lawyers Margaret Satterthwaite and Special Rapporteur connected Freedom of Religion oregon Belief Nazila Ghanea.

The UN rapporteurs person expressed interest implicit violence, discrimination, hatred code and attacks connected places of worship. The missive brings connected grounds a emergence successful incidents of unit - verbal and carnal - against the Ahmadi assemblage and their places of worship arsenic witnessed successful 2022 and successful 2023 frankincense far.

According to the letter, successful 2022, a elder cleric of a right-wing spiritual enactment incited carnal unit against Ahmadi large women to “make definite that nary caller Ahmadis are born”.

Moreover, the missive records incidents including an uptick successful hateful rhetoric against the Ahmadi assemblage connected societal media and WhatsApp group, arsenic good arsenic a bid of attacks connected Ahmadi places of worship from December 2022 till date. According to the letter, graveyards belonging to the number coomunity were besides desecrated. These incidents were preceded by convulsive statements made by anti-Ahmadi activists, states the letter.

Meanwhile, according to the UN representatives, successful Punjab, the District Bar Council of Gujranwala issued a announcement connected March 7, 2023, stating that lawyers who privation to beryllium admitted to the Bar Council indispensable supply an affidavit condemning the laminitis of the Ahmadiyya community.

The missive condemns each specified acts that encroach upon the rights and liberties with respect to state of religion and escaped code and reminded the authorities of the Supreme Court’s 2014 suo moto judgement which issued directives towards safeguarding the rights of spiritual minorities.

The UN representatives referred to the planetary quality rights instrumentality and acting upon their work nether mandates provided by the Human Rights Council sought a reply from the authorities wrong 60 days connected measures taken to forestall specified incidents and guarantee the extortion of number places of worship successful the country.

The missive highlights respective planetary conventions that Pakistan is portion of arsenic good arsenic the country’s past grounds wherever it has failed to guarantee the extortion of its minorities. It warns that past the 60 days deadline, the missive and immoderate signifier of connection received by the authorities would beryllium made nationalist and would beryllium included successful the rapporteurs’ accustomed study to the Human Rights Council.