Locals in Siaklot write Kalima on the walls of Gurdwara

AMRITSAR :People living in the vicinity of historical Gurdwara Babe di Ber, Sialkot, Pakistan have written Kalima on the walls of Sikh’s holy shrine aiming to convert it into a Muslim Darbar on Tuesday in presence of heavy police force.
A Pakistani Sikh has sent a footage, recorded on a mobile phone, showing a person writing Kalima (holy phrase praising Prophet Mohammad) on the walls of Gurdwara building.
Talking to TOI, the Pakistani Sikh who didn’t want to be quoted informed, “This is a historical Gurdwara which is being converted into a Muslim Darbar in connivance with concerned authorities”. He also informed that the caretaker of Gurdwara Babe di Ber Jaskaran Singh had gone to India on a pilgrimage.
“This is a ploy to convert Sikh’s holy places into Muslim Darbars and it will not be tolerated” he said.
Gurdwara Babe di Ber is situated near the banks of Aik stream, along the Sialkot-Pasrur road in Pakistan. Sikh’s first master Guru Nanak Dev had stayed outside the town and meditated under a Ber tree during his visit to Sialkot. The gurdwara also holds significance for Sikhs since it was the first Gurdwara chosen for reforms by Kartar Singh Jhabbar who led a Jatha during Akali movement started in 1920 by Sikh Sabha’s political wing. The Gurdwara was then under the control of widow of Mahant Harnam Singh.

When contacted Evacuee Trust Property Board Chairman Saddiq-ul-Farooq admitted that Kalima was written on the wall of Gurdwara in presence of heavy police force on Tuesday.
The Board is entrusted with the task of protecting Hindu and Sikh religious places and their properties after Indo Pak partition.
However, he denied that Gurdwara was converted into a Muslim Darbar.
He said that Guru Nanak Dev had visited a Muslim saint here so the place was also the tomb of the Muslim saint. “Earlier Kalima was written on the wall but during white washing it was also painted to which the local Muslims who have faith in Muslim saint objected “ he said, adding that both the tomb of Muslim saint and Gurdwara were adjacent to each other. He said the security arrangements were made to avoid any untoward incident.