ATTOCK - The 315th Besakhi Mela, a religious festival of Sikh community, concluded at Gurdwara Siri Punja Sahib, Hassanabdal, on Sunday.
The concluding ceremony namely Bhog was attendee by as many as 7,000 Sikh Yatrees. The Sikh pilgrims performed the ritual of Kitran (prayer) for their purification and redressal of their problems. It was followed by Ardaas (dua) where followers sought forgiveness for their sins. At the end Parshad (food) was distributed among the pilgrims.
There was great religious fervour on the occasion and the Gurdwara was packed with Yatrees wearing colourful dresses. Male Sikhs wearing yellow turbans and female Sikhs clad in bright dresses were seen roaming with happiness and satisfaction on their faces.
Yatrees from India and other countries thanked the government of Pakistan for providing foolproof security, religious freedom and all types of facilities. They said that Pakistanis were caring and loving people. They said they enjoyed full religious freedom in safe and secure environment during the festival.
The pilgrims were of the view that both Pakistan and India should have better relations for the development and prosperity of both the countries. They said that every Sikh was thankful to the government of Pakistan for preserving their holy places. They also appreciated better travelling arrangements made for them.
While talking about elections in India one Manmohan Singh Khalsa, who had come from UK, said that Sikhs had no concern with the elections, as they would never be given their rights. He said that even the UN was silent over the rights of the Sikh community.
More than 900 policemen were deployed for security purposes on the occasion. They had to face a lot of problems because of prolonged duty hours and lack of basic facilities.