The North American Punjabi Association (NAPA) Executive Director Satnam Singh Chahal has expressed serious concern over the latest revelations concerning land historically associated with the Sikh community in Quetta, Balochistan, and demanded an immediate, independent investigation into the alleged auction and subsequent commercial development of the property.
According to MPA Mr Ravi Kumar Pooja, the land in question originally belonged to the Sikh community and formed part of the Gurdwara property. He has reportedly stated that the Gurdwara Committee had donated the land specifically for educational purposes and for the establishment of a school. The issue therefore raises fundamental questions about whether land donated by a religious community for a specific public purpose could subsequently be auctioned and transferred for private commercial development.
Chahal said the latest account is particularly disturbing because it raises questions not merely about the demolition of a historic religious structure, but about the alleged change in the very purpose for which Sikh community land was donated.
According to the statement attributed to MPA Ravi Kumar Pooja, the Evacuee Trust Property Board allegedly auctioned the land in 2025, with allegations of collusion involving several individuals, following which the property was purchased by a private party. He has further stated that the gurdwara, church and school on the site were demolished and construction of a commercial plaza is now underway.
NAPA emphasizes that these are serious allegations requiring verification by the competent authorities. If the allegations are established, the matter cannot be treated as an ordinary property transaction. It would raise serious questions concerning the protection of minority religious property, the authority under which the land was auctioned, the terms of the original donation, the legality of the transfer, and the subsequent change from an educational purpose to commercial development.
“The central question is very simple: If the Sikh community donated its land for education, under what authority was that land allegedly auctioned for commercial development? If the original purpose of the donation was educational, that purpose cannot simply be discarded whenever a more profitable commercial opportunity emerges,” Satnam Singh Chahal said.
Chahal welcomed the reported position of MPA Ravi Kumar Pooja that the Sikh community has no objection to the land being used for the educational purpose for which it was donated, but would oppose its conversion into a commercial project.
“This is an important distinction. The Sikh community is not objecting to education. It is objecting to the alleged conversion of community-donated land into a commercial asset. Education may serve society; a shopping plaza serves private commercial interests. The two purposes cannot be casually equated, particularly when the land was reportedly donated by the Sikh community for education,” Chahal said.
NAPA therefore calls upon the Government of Pakistan, the Government of Balochistan and the Evacuee Trust Property Board to immediately make public all records relating to the property, including the original ownership documents, donation records, educational-use agreements, auction notice, valuation, bidders, purchaser details, approvals and permissions for the present commercial construction.
NAPA further demands that all commercial construction at the disputed site be suspended immediately until the legality of the auction, transfer and present development has been independently established.
“If an investigation finds that the land was unlawfully auctioned, improperly transferred, or diverted from the purpose for which the Sikh community donated it, the transaction must be cancelled and the land restored for the original community purpose. A community’s generosity cannot become somebody else’s commercial windfall.”
Chahal also urged the authorities to investigate the reported demolition of the religious and educational structures at the site. The demolition of a gurdwara and other community institutions associated with Quetta’s historic minority population deserves far greater scrutiny than an ordinary real-estate transaction.
NAPA believes that the issue has significance far beyond one piece of land. It concerns the confidence of religious minorities in the protection of their property, institutions, heritage and legal rights. If minority communities donate land for schools, hospitals, places of worship or other public purposes, they must have confidence that such donations will not later be converted into private commercial opportunities without transparent legal authority and community consultation.
Chahal said the Government of Pakistan has an opportunity to demonstrate that the rights and heritage of its Sikh and other minority communities are genuinely protected.
“A donation made by a Sikh community for education should educate future generations—not enrich private developers. A gurdwara’s land should not become a commercial prize through an auction whose legality and transparency are being questioned. The answer must come from documents, law and an independent investigation, not from competing statements.”