The Punjab government of Pakistan announced on Tuesday the reinstallation of the restored statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the first ruler of the Sikh Empire, at Kartarpur Sahib.
This site, also known as Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, is located approximately 150 km northeast of Lahore, near the Indian border.
Originally placed at the Lahore Fort near Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Samadhi in 2019, the nine-foot-tall bronze statue had been twice vandalized by activists of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a far-right Islamic political party in Pakistan.
Punjab's first Sikh Minister and President of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC), Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora, shared with PTI that the statue will be installed at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur, on Wednesday afternoon. This event will be attended by both local and Indian Sikhs, allowing Indian visitors to view the statue.
Arora emphasized the importance of the statue's location at Kartarpur Sahib for Indian Sikh pilgrims and assured enhanced security measures to protect it. He mentioned that the restoration work on the statue is already in progress and will be completed soon.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire, ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early 19th century with Lahore as his headquarters.
455 Sikhs from India, who arrived last week to participate in festivities commemorating Maharaja Ranjit Singh's death anniversary, will also be present at Kartarpur Sahib on Wednesday for the statue's unveiling.