LAHORE, Feb 3: Indian-American World Bank President Ajay Banga on Tuesday visited his ancestral home in Pakistan’s Punjab province and paid homage at a Sikh shrine, officials said.
According to the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), which manages minority religious places in Pakistan, 66-year-old Banga travelled from Islamabad to Khushab, some 250 km from Lahore, to see the residence of his ancestors.
He also examined the revenue records related to his ancestors’ residence. During the visit, Banga also paid homage at Gurdwara Singh Sabha Khushab and had photographs taken at the shrine.
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Banga appreciated the development and administrative measures undertaken at the gurdwara.
ETPB Additional Secretary (Shrines) Nasir Mushtaq briefed him on the preservation and restoration of Sikh religious heritage and the facilities being provided to Sikh pilgrims across the country.
ETPB Chairman Evacuee Qamar Zaman said the board is taking measures in line with international standards to protect religious heritage and ensure hospitality and religious facilities for Sikh pilgrims.
Banga is on a four-day high-level visit to Pakistan, which will conclude on Wednesday.
Banga was born in November 1959 in Khadki, a small town in Maharashtra. He did his graduation from Delhi’s St Stephen’s College and post-graduation from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
Before joining the World Bank Group, Banga served as Vice Chairman at General Atlantic and earlier as President and Chief Executive of Mastercard. He became a naturalised US citizen in 2007.
On Monday, Banga visited Gurdwara Sri Panja Sahib in Hasan Abdal, where he offered prayers.
He was accompanied by Federal Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Punjab minister and Pradhan of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora during the visit.
Arora said Sikhs across the world, including in India, “share a bond of love” with Pakistan due to the presence of their sacred religious sites in the country. (PTI)
