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SGPC invites Sharief to Khalsa's tricentenary

In a rare gesture of goodwill, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee has invited Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief to participate in the tricentenary celebrations of the ordaining of Khalsa, at Anandpur Sahib on April 14, the next Baisakhi.

An official invitation by SGPC president Gurcharan Singh Tohra, was extended to the Pakistani premier by a jatha of Sikh pilgrims to Pakistan on October 30, an SGPC secretariat release said today. Balbir Singh Pannu, general secretary of the SGPC, led the jatra.

The tricentenary functions would be observed with great religious fervour by Sikhs all over the world. Though Sikhs are in a minority in Pakistan, nearly 250 historical Sikh shrines are located in that country, and are taken care of by the evacuee trust property board, Government of Pakistan, the release said.

The SGPC chief has also invited descendants of Rai Bular, a devotee of Guru Nanak, and Bhai Mardana, another devout follower of the Guru. Nearly one dozen Pakistani writers and journalists, who have been writing on Sikh shrines in Pakistan and Sikh gurus, have also been invited to participate in the tricentenary celebrations.

UNI

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