A traditional Sikh procession in Pakistan was shelved after intelligence reports said that terrorists planned to attack the gathering, which included over 4,000 pilgrims from India.For the first time since the partition of the Indian subcontinent, the procession at the end of the three-day celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev’s 539th birth anniversary did not begin from Gurdwara Janamasthan to the other seven gurdwaras in Punjab Province’s Nankana Sahib due to security reasons.President of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdawara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) Sardar Bishen Singh told the pilgrims that several intelligence reports had warned of terrorist attack on the procession to sabotage the peaceful gathering, the Daily Times reported.Nankana Sahib is the birthplace of Guru Nanak, the first guru of the Sikhs. Police personnel guarded main gates of all seven gurdwaras and security scanners were installed.The annual procession, Nagar Kirtan, was restricted to Gurdwara Janamasthan due to security reasons. Several Sikh pilgrims opposed the move. The decision to restrict the procession to Gurdwara Janamasthan was taken after consultation with Sikh leader Bhai Jogindar Singh Vidhanti at the Golden Temple.Over 5,000 Sikh pilgrims from across the world had come for the celebrations. Over 1,000 personnel of the Rawalpindi police and 100 mobile squads were deployed to avert any untoward incident.
