Twenty-three passports belonging to Indian Sikhs have gone missing from the Pakistan High Commission which has raised security concerns, as reported by Times of India.
The Sikh pilgrims whose passports have gone missing were planning a visit to the gurudwaras in Pakistan including the Gurudwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur. An FIR has been registered in the case. After the matter was brought to the notice of External Affairs Ministry, the Ministry revoked all the missing passports and has taken up the issue with the Pakistan High Commission. Pakistan has denied the allegations on its Officials regarding the loss of the passports.
“This is a serious issue and we have taken all necessary action to prevent any misuse of these passports”, told an official source. It is reported that a Delhi based agent had collected all the missing passports. He informed the authorities that he had submitted all the documents to the Pakistan High Commission but when he went to the High Commission to collect the passports, the Pakistani officials denied having the passports.
Earlier last month, Pakistan had issued visas to about 3800 Indian Sikh pilgrims on occasion of the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev. The 23 people who had lost passports were also scheduled to travel with that group.
The Indian government had sought 24/7 access to Kartarpur Sahib for an unrestricted number of pilgrims keeping in mind the sentiments of Sikh pilgrims.