New Delhi, December 15: As many as 23 Indian passports have reportedly gone missing from the Pakistan high commission in Delhi. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) took cognizance of the matter and moved to revoke all missing passports. The passports belonged to Sikh pilgrims who had reportedly applied for Pakistani visa for a religious visit, through an agent. Some of them also wanted to visit Kartarpur Sahib.

While people who lost their passports after submitting it to the Pakistan high commission filed FIRs, Islamabad denied the involvement of its officials in the disappearances. These 23 Sikhs were supposed to visit Pakistan participate in the 549th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak from November 21 to 30. The Delhi-based agent, who collected their passports, said he had submitted them along with other documents to the Pakistan high commission. Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh Warns Pakistan PM Imran Khan: 'End Cross-Border Terrorism or Face Strong Action'.

The agent told the Indian authorities that the Pakistan high commission denied having the passports when he returned to collect the documents. "This is a serious issue and we have taken all necessary action to prevent any misuse of these passports," a government official told TOI. The disappearance of Indian passports has triggered a security scare.

Pakistan opened the Kartarpur border in November to facilitate visa-free pilgrimage by Indian Sikhs to Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara, where Sikhism's founder Guru Nanak Dev spent the last 18 years of his life. While the Indian government wants a 24/7 access to Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara for Indian Sikhs, it is also concerned that the corridor would be used by Pakistan-based extremist groups to further perpetuate terrorism.

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh dubbed the whole affair initiated by Pakistan on the Kartarpur corridor as a "bigger conspiracy" and said the hostile neighbour is trying to revive militancy in Punjab but it will not be allowed to succeed. Citing that Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had "broken the news of opening the Kartarpur Corridor to Navjot Singh Sidhu even before Imran Khan was sworn in as their Prime Minister", Amarinder said the whole affair smacked of a bigger conspiracy.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 15, 2018 02:39 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).