HRCP slams barring of Sikhs from temple

LAHORE - The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has showed concern over restricting Sikhs from visiting a gurdwara in Lahore. The HRCP called Evacuee Trust Property Boards step a scandalous and a violation of fundamental rights. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the HRCP said: Extremist elements barring religious minorities from their worship places in Pakistan no longer surprises anyone, but the ETPBs decision to deny Sikhs entry into Gurdwara Shaheed Bhai Taru Singh on the eve of Shab-e-Barat is scandalous. It said that four years ago a group of Muslim young men had claimed that the gurdwara was built on the site of burial place of a Muslim saint. The ETPB had allowed both communities to observe their religious rituals. The HRCP called upon the government to take measures to ensure that the Sikh communitys right to observe their faith is not interfered by state or non-state actors.

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