ISLAMABAD: Minister for States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) Abdul Qadir Baloch on Friday informed the Senate that around 19,936 Sikhs and Hindus pilgrims from India have visited sacred places in Pakistan during the last five years.
Responding to a question during the question-answer hour, he said that no agreement had been signed with India under which Sikhs and Hindus belonging to Pakistan would visit India on pilgrimage.
The minister said that during the last five years, 7,51,930 Pakistani pilgrims had performed Hajj, adding that the relevant ministry had no mandate to send Pakistani pilgrims to Iraq, Iran and Syria.
To another question, Baloch said that government had taken various steps to enhance the role of religious scholars in promoting a counter narrative against extremist ideology in seminaries since the inception of the National Action Plan.
He further said that ‘National Ulema and Mashaikh Council’ had been established by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony to promote tolerance and interfaith harmony in the society.
