Zee News Impact: Pakistan orders probe in Kartarpur Sahib ad shoot incident

Pakistan Punjab chief minister sought a detailed report from the Chief Secretary of the Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara and ordered to take action against the staff at PMU who allowed the shooting of the ad.

New Delhi: Pakistan Punjab’s Chief Minister Sardar Usman Ahmad Khan Buzdar on Monday took cognisance of the modelling incident that took place at the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara after an online cloth brand was given permission to shoot an ad, which was against the Maryada (Sikh code of religious conduct.)

The development came minutes after Zee News broke the news of Sikh code violation at the holy shrine. The chief minister sought a detailed report from the Chief Secretary of the Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara and ordered to take action against the staff at PMU who allowed the shooting of the ad.

Later, Pakistan Punjab Police and the Project Management Unit (PMU) launched an investigation and found that the objectionable photograph was uploaded on social media by Mannat Clothing and keeping in view the hurt sentiments of the Sikh community its owner not only tendered an apology from Sikhs but also removed the photographs from its Instagram account.

PMU Chief Executive Officer Muhammad Latif informed that the said clothing company in its message stated that “We accept our mistake that we should have not posted this content and we apologize to every single person who was offended by this”.

It further states that “the picture posted on our account are not part of any shoot done by Mannat clothing. These were provided to us by a third party (blogger) in which they were wearing our dresses”. 

Reacting to the incident Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Information & Broadcasting Choudhary  Fawad said, ”Kartarpur Sahib is a religious symbol and not a film set. He suggested the designer and the model must apologise to the Sikh Community. 

BJP’s national spokesperson R P Singh, National said, “Gurdwara in Kartarpur is a place of religious pilgrimage not a tourist spot and there are certain Sikh code of conducts  (Rehat Maryada) to adhere to People visiting Gurdwaras. 

Sukhbir Singh Badal, President Shiromani Akali Dal condemned the incident and suggested that the authorities there should investigate the matter. 

Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee president Manjinder Singh Sirsa said “Modelling at Sri Kartarpur Sahib is desecration. Pak court issued arrest warrant of star who did dance video at Mosque; same must be done against this woman from Lahore as an example of treating all religion at par Otherwise, any talk of respect for Sikhism by the Pakistan government would be considered hollow”.

Councilor in Amt Wachsenburg.Germany  Gurdeep Singh Randhawa said “The incidents are very much hurtful and condemnable in the  Sikhs world! We should think about how to stop the repetition of such desperation on Pak land. We are not only protesting but also urging the  Pakistan government to take stern action against the violators of Maryada”.

Meanwhile, the owner of the clothing brand has issued a clarification on their  Instagram page and through a video message that they have taken down the controversial posts and apologies for the act they have committed ignorantly.