Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Wednesday urged the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to pressurize the Pakistan Government to undertake a thorough probe into the destruction of the centuries-old Guru Nanak Palace in Narowal. At the same time, he 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 Pak Punjab, Capt Amarinder has written 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,” the Chief Minister said.
Strongly condemning the shocking incident, Capt Amarinder said that it had hurt the sentiments of Sikhs around the world.
In his DO letter to the Prime Minister, Capt Amarinder wrote: “The building, which some media reports cite to be around four centuries old and has been visited by large number of Sikh pilgrims, has been rapaciously pillaged and destroyed.”