CHANDIGARH: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday condemned attempts to convert the historic Bhai Taru Singh Shaheedi Asthan Gurdwara in Lahore into a mosque. He urged the External Affairs minister S. Jaishankar to take up the issue with the Pakistan government to ensure the character of the holy shrine was not changed in any manner whatsoever.
Badal said that reports emanating from Pakistan indicated that constant efforts were being made to convert the eighteenth century shrine of Bhai Taru Singh into a mosque. Terming such efforts as reprehensible, the SAD leader said a clear-cut assurance should be taken from the Pakistan government that such acts would not be allowed besides stressing upon the need to take strict action against the perpetrators, who wanted to change the character of the gurdwara situated in Naulakha bazaar in Lahore.