SGPC announces Rs 1 lakh compensation for Pakistani Sikhs killed in train-bus accident

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Tuesday announced Rs 1 lakh financial assistance to each of the families of the Pakistani Sikhs who were killed in a train-bus accident in that country.

At least 21 Pakistani Sikh pilgrims were killed when a minibus in which they were travelling was hit by a train in Sheikhupura district in Pakistan's Punjab province on Friday.

The SGPC, an apex gurdwara body, will also give Rs 50,000 to each of those who were injured in the accident.

Most of the Sikh pilgrims were from the north-western city of Peshawar. They were returning from the Sheikhupura-based shrine of Nankana Sahib, the most visited Sikh shrine in Pakistan.

SGPC chief Gobind Singh Longowal said, “In these hours of grief, the entire Sikh community across the world is with the grieving families who lost their near and dear ones in the rail accident."

He further said it was an irrecoverable loss.

Longowal appealed to the Pakistan government to provide all possible help to the families of those who lost their lives in this accident and also sought action against those who were responsible for the same.