A controversy has erupted over Gurdwaras’ exact count in Pakistan after the Evacuee Trust Property Board’s chairman Amir Hashmi stated that there were 105 Gurdwaras in Pakistan. He had further stated that only 18 Gurdwaras have been reopened while the others are still closed due to legal or some other issues.
Rejecting the ETPB chairman Amir Hashmi’s statement, the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee has accused him of misleading Sikh community about the exact count of Gurdwaras in Pakistan.
Reacting to Amir Hashmi’s statement, SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur has said that there were 250 Gurdwaras in Pakistan but depiction of decreased count of these historic Sikh shrines is worrisome. She has asked the Pakistan government to recount the exact number of Sikh shrines in Pakistan while seeking to remove ambiguity.
On the other hand, the ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf affiliated MNA Dr Ramesh Kumar has stated that there are 588 Gurdwaras in Pakistan.
Similarly, Lahore based historian Iqbal Kaisar has stated that there were 135 historic Sikh shrines in Pakistan which are directly related to Sikh Gurus while the total count Gurdwaras in Pakistan is above 300.
Sources have revealed that buildings and other properties related to a number of Gurdwaras have been illegally occupied by some Pakistani nationals while colluding with the Evacuee Trust Property Board officials
