Pakistani Panjab Gets First Sikh Minister

On 6 Mar, 48-years old Ramesh Singh Arora became the first minority Sikh community minister to take oath in the Panjab province of Pakistan. A three-time Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA), Arora took oath as a minister in the Cabinet of recently sworn-in Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) Chief Minister Maryam Nawaf Sharif, daughter of former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The ceremony was held at the Governor’s House in Lahore. Arora, who was recently elected as the chief of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC), said: ‘For the first time since Partition a Sikh has been inducted into the Cabinet of the Panjab province. I won’t just work for the safety and well-being of Sikhs but all minorities, including Hindus and Christians living in Pakistan.’ Arora was re-elected as an MPA from Narowal, his native place where Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib, the final resting place of Guru Nanak, is located. Last year, he was also appointed as the Ambassador at large for the Kartarpur Corridor. A postgraduate in entrepreneurship and School of Management & Entrepreneurship from Government College University, Lahore, Arora worked for the World Bank’s Poverty Reduction Programme before joining politics. In 2008, he founded Mojaz Foundation, an organization working for the underprivileged and poor in Pakistan. Arora is also credited for the implementation of the Sikh Marriage Registration Act 2017 in Pakistan. He introduced it as a private member bill which was unanimously passed by the Assembly in March 2018.  Earlier, in 2018, Sardar Mahendar Pal Singh of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf took oath as Parliamentary Secretary of Panjab Assembly. The Sikh seat of Political Sovereignty, Akal Takht, has hailed the appointment.