New Delhi: This is the festival time for Hindus in India and across the world as the pre-Diwali festivities are already on. Similarly, Sikhs in India and across the globe are making all the preparations for Guru Nanak Gurpurab, the birth anniversary of the first Sikh guru Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
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For these two big occasions, the government of Pakistan’s Punjab province has made special announcements. Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the Chief Minister of Punjab has declared that it will give 10,000 Pakistani rupees to 2,200 Sikh and Hindu families before Diwali and Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary which fall on October 31 or November 1 and November 15 respectively.
“The CM has directed officials to immediately initiate the process of issuing festival cards for our Hindu and Sikh brethren,” a Punjab government spokesperson said on Wednesday, October 23. Festival cards and financial assistance under the festival card programme will be provided to 2200 Hindu and Sikh families living in Punjab.
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Punjab state officials told news agency PTI that special arrangements are also being made for foreign pilgrims coming next month for the 555th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.
The Punjab cabinet has approved the “festival card” initiative through which these families will get financial assistance to celebrate their religious festival.
This year, Diwali will be celebrated from October 31 to November 2 and Guru Nanak Jayanti falls on November 15.
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Pakistan is mostly in news for wrong reasons about its treatment to the minorities. This step is very likely to enhance the country’s image on the international level regarding its minorities.
Hindus are the largest minority in Pakistan and their total population is about 53 lakhs while the Sikh community has a population of about 16,000.
