A delegation of the Jain Heritage Foundation (JHF) recently concluded its historic pilgrimage to Pakistan in May, marking the first visit by a Jain Acharya to the neighbouring country in 75 years. But their journey wasn’t without constant inconvenience and other nuisance by Pakistani officials that left a lasting impression on the religious group visiting the country for the first time.
In a letter to the Pakistani High Commission, dated July 6, JHF General Secretary Ashwani Jain expressed “gratitude” for the hospitality shown by the host country to the delegation as he recounted a number of unpleasant experiences that the Jain group had to face during their trip.
Earlier in May, a group of Indian Jain monks embarked on a journey to Lahore, Gujranwala, and other sites of religious significance in the country, via the Wagah border. Their visit, extensively covered by Pakistan’s press and social media, was hailed as a path-breaking moment. However, during their trip, the Jain delegation faced some peculiar incidents.
First on the list of “grateful experiences” was their Pakistani host, Zahid Karmawala, who was allegedly compelled to cover the expenses of meals for not just the delegation but also all police and security personnel accompanying them.
“Our Host, Mr. Zahid Karmawala was forced to pay for breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner of all Police personnel and other security agency personnel. Besides this, he was regularly harassed by almost all security authorities to provide information, phone and videos regarding our every movement,” the letter read.
In the letter, Ashwani Jain also recalled how the Pakistani authorities seemed particularly interested in the delegation’s every movement, requesting information, photos, and videos.
Besides this, the Jain delegation reported that several valuables, including shoes, dresses, utensils, and presents, mysteriously went missing during their time in Gujranwala. One significant religious event held at the Gujranwala Temple left the pilgrims astonished when security personnel were present within the sacred premises, deeply hurting their religious sentiments.
Despite the “unique experiences,” the Jain Heritage Foundation requested the Pakistani authorities to view their concerns as constructive feedback rather than complaints. They hoped for improved measures to ensure that future Jain pilgrims would not have to face similar inconveniences and that the warm and hospitable image of the Pakistani government and people would remain intact.
“We request you not to treat these issues as complaints, but you should put in place such measures so that such unpleasant situation does not recur in future inconveniencing Jain pilgrims in the future and tarnish the image of a warm and hospitable Govt. and people of Pakistan,” the letter read.
The delegation concluded by expressing their desire to undertake such pilgrimages regularly in the future and looked forward to receiving “warm hospitality” during their next visit to Pakistan.
(With input from Shalinder Wangu)
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