AI Generated Summary
- This incident is indeed an international issue, as under the 1975 Shimla Agreement, it was clearly stated that whenever a group of pilgrims from India visits Pakistan, the safety and security of the pilgrims will be the responsibility of the Pakistani government and administration.
- Various Sikh organizations are appealing to the Government of India to intervene through the Ministry of External Affairs and pressurize the Pakistani authorities to locate Sarabjit Kaur and ensure that she is safely reunited with her family as soon as possible.
- News of her disappearance under suspicious circumstances has not only disturbed her family but also raised concern across India about her condition and what might be happening to her in Pakistan.
On November 4, as every year, a group of Sikh pilgrims went to Nankana Sahib in Pakistan to celebrate Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s Prakash Parv (birth anniversary). Before this, Pakistan had granted visas to 14 Hindus but later humiliated and expelled them.
Now, as the group returns to India today, one woman named Sarabjit Kaur has not returned. The 48-year-old Sarabjit Kaur, a resident of Muktsar, Punjab, had gone to Pakistan for pilgrimage with the group sent by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). News of her disappearance under suspicious circumstances has not only disturbed her family but also raised concern across India about her condition and what might be happening to her in Pakistan.
It is already well known that cases of abduction, sexual assault, and forced religious conversion of Hindu and Sikh girls frequently occur in Pakistan. Therefore, every Indian is deeply worried about what might have happened to Sarabjit Kaur. However, instead of being ashamed of its security failure, the Pakistani administration is labeling Sarabjit Kaur as an Indian spy. Reports suggest that the Pakistani government and authorities are trying to cover up their major security lapse by falsely accusing the woman of espionage.
This incident is indeed an international issue, as under the 1975 Shimla Agreement, it was clearly stated that whenever a group of pilgrims from India visits Pakistan, the safety and security of the pilgrims will be the responsibility of the Pakistani government and administration. Therefore, the fact that Sarabjit Kaur did not return to India even after the visa period expired raises several serious questions.
Various Sikh organizations are appealing to the Government of India to intervene through the Ministry of External Affairs and pressurize the Pakistani authorities to locate Sarabjit Kaur and ensure that she is safely reunited with her family as soon as possible.
