:dateline:As claimed by the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Tuesday by issuing a press release, Pakistan Sikh Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) has approved� observance of �Gurpurabs�� commemorqtion dates) according to the amended Nanakshahi Calendar. However, former PSGPC President Bishen Singh said the PSGPC was yet to officially take any decision in this regard.
An eight member delegation of SGPC is visiting Pakistan with the purpose of negotiating with PSGPC to do away with differences on the dates of Gurupurabs. The delegation is led by president Avtar Makkar. In the past, the SGPC and the PSGPC had been at loggerheads over the issue,� evident by the fact that after a gap of two years, an SGPC jatha visited Pakistan last year to observe the martyrdom day of Guru Arjan Dev on June 12 as per the amended Nanakshahi Calendar. Prior to it, the SGPC had to call off the visit of its jatha to Pakistan in 2011, and 2012, as the Pakistan High Commission had denied visas, contending that the PSGPC was observing the ‘gurpurab’ on a different date.
The release read that when Makkar made appeal to the Sikh Sangat (congregation) to observe �Gurpurabs� as per Sri Akal Takht�s decision, former PSGPC Chief Mastan Singh accepted their approval. Makkar also assured the Sikh Sangat that they would be taken into confidence whenever a decision about the community was taken in future. However, former PSGPC President Bishen Singh, confirmed that the SGPC delegation was yet to hold formal talks with the PSGPC on the Nanakshahi Calendar issue, and therefore no formal decision has yet been made.
