From M Zulqernain Lahore, Feb 10 (PTI) A historic Gurdwara in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's provincial capital will be reopened to the minority Sikh community for the first time since Partition in 1947, an official said today. Bhai Beeba Singh Gurdwara in Peshawar will be opened for worship after authorities complete its renovation. "On the demand of the Sikh community, we decided to reopen the centuries-old gurdwara," Asif Hashmi, chairman of the Evacuee Trust Property Board, told PTI. The ETPB is responsible for managing the shrines of minority communities across Pakistan. Hashmi and leaders of the Sikh community participated in an event to mark the reopening of the gurdwara in Hashtnagri area of Peshawar yesterday. "The gurdwara will be opened for local and foreign Sikhs in a month or so after we complete its renovation," Hashmi said. Some 4,000 Sikhs, who were displaced from their homes in the tribal belt because of the activities of militants, had settled in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. One of their first demands was the reopening of Bhai Beeba Singh Gurdwara, Hashmi said. The gurdwara was closed before Partition. It was last renovated in 1833. After Partition, it was handed over to the Department of Auqaf and a vocational training school is currently being run in the compound.
