Ramesh Singh Arora elected as Pakistan’s Sikh body chief

Ramesh Singh Arora was unanimously elected the president of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC) on Friday for a term of three years.
Arora, a member of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, has also been made the ambassador to the Kartapur Corridor, replacing the incumbent Ameer Singh.
Satwant Kaur, a woman member of the PSGPC, was elected as the general secretary.
Incidentally, Arora has also been elected as a member of the Punjab Provincial Assembly on a minority seat in the February 8 general elections.
He won on the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) ticket. He was also a PML-N lawmaker in the last Punjab Assembly.
“The members of PSGPC unanimously elected Ramesh Singh Arora as the Pradhan (president) and Satwant Kaur as general secretary,” Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) spokesperson Amir Hashmi told PTI after PSGPC.
He said the committee meeting was presided over by ETPB chairman Arshad Farid Khan.
After his election, Arora said: “I will fulfil my responsibility as a pradhan in an efficient manner and steps will be taken for the betterment of the Sikh community.”
The Kartarpur Corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district.
In November 2019, then-prime minister Imran Khan formally inaugurated the Kartarpur Corridor as part of the commemoration of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, paving the way for Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit one of their religion’s holiest sites in Pakistan without needing a visa.
Earlier, the federal cabinet approved the names of the PSGPC’s new members. They are Ramesh Singh Arora, Gian Singh Chawla, Sawant Kaur, Dr Mampal Singh, Sawant Singh, Harmeet Singh, Sahib Singh, Tara Singh, Mahesh Singh and Bhagat Singh.
Three members are from the government.