Earlier this month, Gurdwara Bhai Biba Singh in Jogiwara, Peshawar opened its doors for devotees for the first time in 73 years. The gurdwara is believed to have been established at the time of the 10th Sikh guru Gobind Singh who died in 1708, making this structure at least 300-years-old.
In last 73 years, the gurdwara was under the administration of Pakistan government’s Evacuee Trust, an organization that looks after properties vacated by those who left for India during partition in 1947.
The restoration work took more than seven decades after the gurudwara was abandoned in 1940s and the Sikhs, a minority in Pakistan, celebrated its reopening amid concerns and fears of a militant attack. The gurudwara is guarded by security personnel from the community as well as police as some believe an attack is inevitable.
“We have carried out massive renovation work of Gurdwara Bhai Biba Singh and would be pleased if Sikhs from India visit the shrine and pay obeisance,” Siddiq-ul-Farooq , chairman of Evacuee Trust Property Board said,