The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has announced that it will no longer process Pakistan visa applications for single women pilgrims, according to ETV Bharat. The decision follows the case of Sarabjeet Kaur from Punjab’s Kapurthala, who reportedly converted to Islam and married a Pakistani man during a pilgrimage earlier this month.
Sarabjeet Kaur, 48, from Amanipur village in Kapurthala, was part of around 2,000 Indian Sikh pilgrims who travelled to Pakistan via the Wagah border to attend Guru Nanak Dev’s birth anniversary celebrations. While most pilgrims returned home on November 13, Kaur went missing.
Reports later revealed that she married Nasir Hussain, a resident of Sheikhupura near Lahore, on November 4, a day after her arrival. Kaur, now known as Noor, said in a social media video that she had known Hussain for nine years online, is a divorcee, and married him out of her own free will. She also confirmed in a Pakistani court that no one had abducted her and that she is “happily married.”
Briefing the media, SGPC Secretary Pratap Singh condemned Kaur’s actions. He said the committee had previously tried to ensure that single women did not receive visas for Pakistan.
“Whatever Sarabjeet Kaur has done by going with the group on the pretext of a religious pilgrimage is highly condemnable. It has not only defamed her family but also tarnished the image of Punjab,” he said. Singh also questioned why authorities had not detected her intentions earlier, according to ETV Bharat.
This is not the first such incident. In 2018, Kiran Bala from Hoshiarpur went missing during a pilgrimage to Pakistan, later converted to Islam, and married a Pakistani man, leaving her three children behind.
Shivam Verma is a journalist with over three years of experience in digital newsrooms. He currently works at NewsX, having previously worked for Firstpost and DNA India. A postgraduate diploma holder in Integrated Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, Shivam focuses on international affairs, diplomacy, defence, and politics. Beyond the newsroom, he is passionate about football—both playing and watching—and enjoys travelling to explore new places and cuisines.
