Pakistan Requested Not to Call Sikhs “Indian” – Treat Us As a Third Party Only
Sikhs Are Ready to Invest in Tourism, Real Estate and Other Sectors in Pakistan
Construct a Town Between Islamabad and Nankana Sahib | Sikhs Will Buy Homes
Issue Them Family Life Visas | Provide Security of Their Investments
Interview : Tazeen Akhtar – Islamabad
Sadhu Bhupinder Singh, President of the World Interfaith Harmony Council, former Chairman of the Dharam Parchar Committee, Takht Sri Harimandir Ji, Patna Sahib, Bihar, India, and a leader of the Shiromani Akali Dal, has urged the higher authorities of Pakistan’s Interior and Foreign Ministries not to describe Sikhs as being of Indian origin or as Indian citizens.
In an interview with Tazeen Akhtar, Editor of Pakistan in the World Media Group, Islamabad, he proposed the development of a model township between Islamabad and Nankana Sahib.
Canada-based Sikh leader Sadhu Bhupinder Singh visited Islamabad, where the interview was held.Sadhu Bhupinder Singh is the former President of the Dharam Parchar Committees of Akal Takht Amritsar, Delhi and Patna, and a leader of the Akali Dal.
Regarding non Indian visa by Pakistan, Sadhu said, “The Sikhs are a free nation and want to be called and remain free. Take us as a third party. It is in the interest of Pakistan as well.”
He did not detail how this would benefit Pakistan. However, he said that the announcement of funds for Pakistan by the President of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, was linked to lobbying by community representatives with people from the community who hold important positions in the world.
He said, “We meet highly placed Sikh officials and convince them to do good for Pakistan, because Pakistan takes care of our holy places.”
It is worth mentioning that Mr. Banga visited Pakistan in February 2026, met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and discussed structural economic reforms and the 10-year Country Partnership Framework.
Sadhu offered that the Sikh community is ready to invest in Pakistan buying houses in the suggested town, if their investments are given security and the investors are issued life family visas.
He said the Sikh community from Canada to Australia is keen to invest in various sectors in Pakistan including real estate and tourism. He said Sikh community investments in Pakistan will create jobs, and the investors will submit their returns every year.
Sadhu Bhupinder Singh said the Indian government wrongly links the murder of Paramjit Singh with the Bishnoi gang. He said it was a clear act of Indian intelligence. He added that India is using the name of Bishnoi only to cover its own state crimes.
How Free Khalistan Will Be
Sadhu said the free Punjab will be like the Vatican State, with open borders like the European Union. The border with India and Pakistan will not be a thorny border, but only a demarcation. He meant that it will not be a militarised, strict border.
Asked what he meant by Punjab, as India divided Punjab into three units, he replied that Punjab means the Punjab that existed before the division imposed by India. He said India has been working on dividing Sikhs since Partition.He said most people know only about the military action on Darbar Sahib in 1984. He added that military action also took place in 1955.
Mr. Jinnah Was Right
Sadhu admitted that Quaid-e-Azam, he used the same title, had offered a lot to the Sikhs, but the Sikh leaders of that time could not understand him.
Bhupinder Singh Sadhu expressed his complete satisfaction on the care that the government is taking of the holy sites of Sikhs and offered cooperation if needed to further improve the infrastructures and facilities in Nankana, Hassan Abdal, Kartarpura, Lahore etc.
He was happy to share that our Gurdwaras have been well conserved by the Pakistanis who have residences around. He said , not a single mosaic has been erased from our religious places.
Historically ; ‘Jinnah’s offer to the Sikhs’
Before partition, Quaid e Azam met the Maharaja of Patiala in order to negotiate a power sharing formula as per which the Muslims and Sikhs could live together. The meetings were held in Delhi on 15–16 May, 1947. The former Prime Minister of Patiala, Hardit Singh Malik, was also involved in the discussions between the Muslim League and the Sikh leaders. He was interviewed by the veteran Sikh historian of the Punjab partition, Kirpal Singh who posed the following question to Hardit:
Question: You accompanied the Sikh leaders for negotiations with Mr. Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan. Could you throw some light on this?
Answer: Jinnah started by saying that he was very anxious to have the Sikhs agree to Pakistan and he was prepared to give them everything that they wanted, if they could accept Pakistan. I said to him, “Mr. Jinnah you are being very generous but we would like to know exactly what our position will be. You will have a Government, you will have a Parliament and you will have Defence forces, what part will the Sikhs have in all these”?
Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s reply was:
“Mr. Malik! are you familiar with what happened in Egypt? I will deal with the Sikhs as Zaghlul Pasha dealt with the Copts (the Christian minority) when Egypt became independent” He then went on to tell us the story.
According to Jinnah, the Copts when they first met Zaghlul Pasha put forward some demands. After listening to them he advised them to go back, think the whole thing over and come to see him again with a paper incorporating all their demands. They did this.
Zaghul Pasha took the paper from them and without reading it wrote on it “I agree.” Mr Jinnah added “That is what i will do with the Sikhs.”
‘Jinnah put us in an awkward position. We were determined not to accept Pakistan under any circumstances and here was the Muslim Leader offering us everything. What to do?’
Then I questioned him again, “Mr Jinnah, you are being very generous. But, supposing, God forbid, you are no longer there when the time comes to implement your promises?”
His reply was astounding. Jinnah said, “My friend, my word in Pakistan will be like the word of God. No one will go back on it”. There was nothing to be said after this and the meeting ended.
Reference: “The Punjab Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed: Unravelling the 1947 Tragedy Through Secret British Reports and First-Person Accounts” by Ishtiaq Ahmed
Prominent Sikh writers like khuswant Singh also mentioned this in his book and that was win win situation for both but according to Singh master Tara Singh was pressurised by valhabhai Patel not to accede with Pakistan.
