Sarabjit Singh
Jammu Tawi, 4 December:
The Lahore High Court will hear a fresh constitutional petition on Friday, 5 December, seeking the immediate deportation of Sikh pilgrim Sarbjit Kour, who allegedly absconded after entering Pakistan during her visit to Nankana Sahib. The petition accuses her of violating visa conditions, travelling to unauthorized locations beyond the approved pilgrimage route, and remaining in Pakistan even after the expiry of her visa.
This petition, which has been resubmitted after earlier objections were removed, has been fixed for hearing before a single bench of the Lahore High Court on Friday, 5 December 2025. It has been filed by Mahinder Pal Singh, former Member of the Punjab Assembly and former Parliamentary Secretary for Human Rights and Minority Affairs, through his counsel, Advocate Ali Chengazi Sandhu. The Federation of Pakistan, the Ministry of Interior, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the Government of Punjab, the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, and the Punjab Minority Affairs Department have been named as respondents.
According to the petition, Sarbjit Kaur, a resident of District Muktsar in Indian Punjab, entered Pakistan on 4 November 2025. She had been issued a 10-day single-entry religious visa, allowing her to visit only a limited number of approved pilgrimage sites, including Nankana Sahib, Kartarpur, and other designated religious locations, until 13 November 2025.
The petition alleges that she failed to comply with the prescribed visa conditions, travelled beyond the designated pilgrimage route, and continued to stay in Pakistan even after her visa had expired. It argues that these actions constitute a clear violation of Pakistani laws and amount to unlawful overstay. It also claims that Sarbjit Kaur is facing charges of fraud and deception in India, and that issuing her a visa, allowing border clearance, and permitting unrestricted movement within Pakistan raise serious legal and security concerns.
The petitioner has therefore asked the court to declare Sarbjit Kaur an illegally residing foreign national and to order her immediate deportation. The petition further seeks directions to the FIA to investigate the issuance of her visa, including whether proper background verification was conducted. It also requests that the religious visa policy be strengthened and reformed, that an effective monitoring mechanism be established for the movement and stay of pilgrims, and that the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and the Punjab Minority Affairs Department enforce stricter oversight of pilgrimage activities.
The case is scheduled to be heard on Friday, 5 December 2025, before the bench presided over by Justice Farooq Haider at the Lahore High Court. After the hearing, Mahinder Pal Singh, his counsel Advocate Ali Chengazi Sandhu, and representatives of the Sikh community are expected to brief the media.
