Former president of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) Manjit Singh GK wrote to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday, demanding that the properties of the gurdwaras in the neighbouring country be handed over to the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC).
At present, the Evacuee Property Trust Board (EPTB), a Pakistani government body, takes care of the properties “evacuated” by Sikhs and Hindus after Partition.
In his letter to Khan, GK said the PSGPC should not merely function as an “organ” of the EPTB, but should be an “autonomous” body, with its members “elected” by the Sikhs of Pakistan.
The PSGPC was formed in 1999. Currently, the Pakistani government appoints the president and members of the PSGPC and they are not “elected”.
“Our primary issue is that gurdwara properties in Pakistan should not be treated as evacuee and their complete management should be given to an autonomous PSGPC and the properties attached to these gurdwaras should either be registered in the revenue records in the name of Sri Guru Granth Sahib or the PSGPC,” GK wrote in his letter to Khan.
The Pakistani government should also clear all the encroachments and possessions from any land owned by gurdwaras or Sikh temples, he said.