New president of Pakistan Gurdwara Committee elected

Sardar Sham Singh has been elected as the new president of the Pakistan Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PGPC), when polls to the body were held after a gap of three years.

Sardar Taru Singh and Sardar Saab Singh were elected his deputies from the country's four provinces.

The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), which looks after the shrines and properties of minority communities, held the elections for the first time in three years on the directives of the federal government.

Board chairman Syed Asif Hashmi told a news conference that the PGPC will be responsible for all matters related to gurdwaras across Pakistan.

The PGPC will be an independent body and the board will not intervene in its affairs, he said.

The revival of the PGPC will help strengthen relations between Sikhs and the majority Muslim community, Hashmi said.

Sardar Sham Singh and his deputies welcomed the government's decision to hold the elections, and vowed to work for the welfare of the Sikh minority and the upkeep of their shrines in Pakistan.

The last elected president of committee was Sardar Mastan Singh, who held the post till 2006. After his removal from office on charges of embezzling funds of the committee, the board had been reluctant to hold fresh elections to the body.

There are about 25,000 Sikhs living in different parts of Pakistan, including the militancy-hit northwest and tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.