Sonia Gandhi condemns 'unwarranted and unprovoked' attack on Nankana Sahib, urges govt to take up issue with Pak

Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former party chief Rahul Gandhi on Saturday condemned the attack on the Nankana Sahib Gurudwara in Pakistan's Punjab province on Friday.

According to reports, an angry mob of local residents pelted stones at Gurdwara Nankana Sahib in Pakistan on Friday evening. The group was led by the family of a boy who had allegedly abducted the daughter of gurdwara's pathi as they demanded his release. 

Congress President Sonia Gandhi has condemned the unwarranted and unprovoked attack on Gurdwara Nankana Sahib in Pakistan by an unruly mob of miscreants, a press release issued by the Congress said. 

"Expressing dismay & concern on the safety of Sikh pilgrims & employees, she called upon the Government of India to immediately take up the issue with Pakistani authorities to ensure security for pilgrims & adequate security for the Holy shrine to prevent any future attacks," the statement further said. 

Government of India should also press for immediate registration of case, arrest and action against culprits, she was quoted as saying in the release. 

Earlier, her son and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi had also condemned the attack, calling it "reprehensible." 

"The attack on Nankana Sahab is reprehensible & must be condemned unequivocally. Bigotry is a dangerous, age old poison that knows no borders. Love + Mutual Respect + Understanding is its only known antidote," he said.

The Congress party and the Gandhi family were attacked by the ruling BJP as it alleged that the opposition had failed to condemn the act.  

"Till now I haven't heard anything from Congress on the issue. I don't know where Sidhu (Navjot Singh Sidhu) paaji has fled? If even after all this he wants to hug ISI chief, then Congress should look into it," BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi said at a press conference. 

Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal also attacked the Congress as she claimed that the attack was done by Pak government to threaten Sikhs there.

"Can't Pakistan government see all this happening? Has their intelligence failed so much that they can't understand all this? It is clear that it is being done by the Pak government to threaten Sikhs there," she said. 

"It is highly shameful that when Pakistan government is doing all this, Gandhi family and Congressmen are keeping mum on this," she said, adding that "people who have gone, hugged and kissed at Imran Khan's swearing-in ceremony, are not uttering a word today", in reference to Sidhu who had visited Pakistan during Kartarpur Corridor stone-laying ceremony and later during its opening. 

Meanwhile, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) said on Saturday that it will send a four-member delegation to Pakistan to take stock of the situation and meet authorities. 

"We are sending a four-member delegation to Pakistan which will meet senior officials and the province's Governor over this issue," SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal said on Saturday. 

Longowal condemned the attack on Nankana Sahib, one of the holiest sites for Sikhs, and urged the Pakistan government to take strict action against the culprits. 

India has strongly condemned vandalism at the revered Gurdwara Nankana Sahib and called upon the neighbouring country to take immediate steps to ensure the safety and security of the Sikh community there.