Lahore: The government of Pakistan's Punjab province on Monday advised Indian Sikhs intending to visit the country to carry US dollars instead of Indian currency. "We have received a number of complaints that Indian Sikhs visiting Pakistan for their holy places are exploited in terms of giving them way less (amount) than the current exchange rate," Punjab's first Sikh minister Ramesh Singh Arora said here.
Arora, who is also the Pradhan (President) of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, issued the advisory after receiving several complaints about the exploitation of Sikhs from India.
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The minister also said visiting Indian Sikhs should not pay any extra amount to group leaders for facilities here.
The minister said a good number of Indian Sikhs are due here on November 14 to participate in the festivities on the 555th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, the first Sikh guru.
Last year, around 3,000 Indian Sikhs arrived here through the Wagah Border to participate in the event.
Many Sikhs see Pakistan's temple in Kartarpur as the place where their religion began: its founder, Guru Nanak, was born in 1469 in a small village near the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore. But to get there, travellers must first secure hard-to-get visas, travel to Lahore or some other major Pakistani city and then drive to the village, which is just 4 km (2-1/2 miles) distant from the Indian border.
(With inputs from agency)
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