Pak SGPC president Sham Singh no more

New Delhi : Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee (PSGPC) president Sardar Sham Singh, who put the Sikh shrines and their upkeep on world front, breathed his last on Sunday at the Combined Military Hospital in Lahore.
He was not well for the last one month and admitted in the hospital for a prolong illness. He was the first president of the PSGPC, formed by the Pakistan Government in 1998, and was elected for various terms to head the bodies that look after the Sikh shrines spread all over the neighbouring country especially Pakistani Punjab.
Born on December 11, 1936, Sham Singh, an agriculturist who hailed from Faislabad, was chosen to head the body which was carved out by the Pakistan Government to take control of the Sikh Gurdwaras which were earlier being looked after by the Amritsar headquartered Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee (SGPC), the premier body of the Sikhs.
The PSGPC was brought under Pakistan Evacuee Trust Property Board, which was then headed by former ISI chief Javed Nasir.
Sham Singh would be remembered for face lifting of Sikh Gurdwaras and bringing large number of pilgrims from across the world to visit Pakistan.
Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, Gurdwara Babye Nanaki, Gurudwara Janam Asthan Guru Ram Dass and many more were declared open for the pilgrimages unlike the previous times when Pakistan allowed devotees to visit only a couple of Gurdwaras in Pakistan where as there are about 172 historical Sikh shrines in the country.
Sham Singh’s tenure was also marked by some controversies. After his appointment as the PSGPC chief, the then president of the SGPC Bibi Jagir Kaur stopped sending jathas (groups of pilgrims) to Pakistan in protest.