CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to put pressure on the Pakistan government to undertake a thorough probe into the demolition of the centuries-old Guru Nanak Palace in Narowal.
The CM has also offered to get the property rebuilt by his government if the Centre is able to secure Islamabad’s permission for the same.
Drawing his attention to the destruction of the Sikh heritage property located in Pakistan Punjab, Amarinder on Wednesday wrote to Modi, requesting him to “take up with the Government of Pakistan to probe the wanton destruction of the property in question and to bring to justice all the guilty persons associated with this unfortunate act.”
Calling for urgent steps to restore the remaining structure through scientific conservation and restoration, the Chief Minister has also sought to impress upon the Government of Pakistan to preserve all such monuments that have an association with Sikh heritage in an institutionalized manner so that such
incidents do not recur in future.
If the Government of India arranges permission from Pakistan government, the Punjab Government (India) would rebuild the historic property, he later said.
Strongly condemning the shocking incident, Amarinder said that the incident had hurt the sentiments of Sikhs around the world. In his letter to the prime minister, Amarinder wrote, "The building, which some
media reports cite to be around four centuries old and has been visited by a large number of Sikh pilgrims, has been rapaciously pillaged and destroyed.”
The incident, he said, had caused great consternation in the state and it was almost ironic that it had happened at a time when the two countries were poised to celebrate the 550th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.
Meanwhile, Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal also urged PM Modi to strongly take up this matter with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. Taking to Twitter she said, "I join the Sikh community in condemning the demolition of historical Guru Nanak Palace in Pakistan’s Punjab Province by some vandals in connivance with Auqaf authorities.’’