Quetta, Pakistan

Quetta is the capital of Balochistan province in Pakistan. The Tribune reported in 2020 that around 2,000 Sikh families live in Balochistan. The Sikh record in Quetta, as reported, is about buildings: who holds them and who can worship in them.

Key moments

• 1947: the Siri Guru Singh Gurdwara on Masjid Road in the centre of Quetta, described by The Tribune as 200 years old, was turned into the APWA Government High Girls School. It stayed a school for 73 years.
• 22 July 2020: the Balochistan government announced that the gurdwara was handed back to Sikhs. Jasbeer Singh, chairman of the Sikh Community Committee in Balochistan, thanked the Pakistan government and the Balochistan High Court and called it a gift to the community. A provincial minorities adviser, Denesh Kumar, called it a historic decision.
• June, reported on 1 September 2026: Sikh representatives told Outlook that a gurdwara building on Archer Road, used by St Gabriel's School, was demolished in June and the site given to a private company for a shopping plaza. Jasbir Singh, chairman of the Balochistan Sikh Council, said it was established as a gurdwara in the 1930s and that the community was not consulted. Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora, president of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC), said the property belonged to a Sikh individual, not a gurdwara. Outlook said the claim was not independently verified.

What the records say. According to Outlook, the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) lists a functional Gurdwara Singh Sabha, Quetta, of 1 kanal, and a non-functional Gurdwara Sahib near Archer Road, of 2 kanal 12 marla. Outlook said these records do not show that the demolished building is the one the ETPB lists. The ETPB says it is preserving and restoring minority religious heritage, and in August Pakistan's information ministry made a general statement that minorities are entitled to equal rights, not a reply to the Quetta case.

What it means to the Panth. The 2020 handover shows a shrine can be returned after seven decades, and the 2026 dispute shows how a shrine's status can be contested on the ground.