National Assembly member Ramesh Kumar said an investigation had identified the involvement of former Evacuee Trust Property Board officials, members of the local Sikh community and what he described as a commercial mafia. He said a meeting had been held on the matter and promised that damage to minority places of worship would not be tolerated.
The intervention follows protests by Sikh, Christian and Hindu representatives in Balochistan over the demolition of the building, which Sikh leaders identify as Gurdwara Sri Singh Sabha. Community representatives say the property was cleared to make way for a shopping plaza without adequate consultation.
Sikh leaders have also alleged that sacred artefacts at the site, including a holy throne and palanquin associated with the gurdwara, were destroyed during the demolition. The claim has formed part of demands for an official inquiry, although the precise circumstances surrounding the removal or destruction of the artefacts have not been independently established.
The legal status and ownership of the Archer Road property remain disputed. Jasbir Singh, chairman of the Balochistan Sikh Council and jathedar of Quetta’s Sikh community, has said the community holds documents showing that the site belonged to the gurdwara. He has alleged that it was handed to a private company for construction of a commercial plaza.
Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora, president of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, has offered a different account, saying information available to him indicated that the property belonged to a Sikh individual rather than to a gurdwara. The disagreement has made ownership records and the authority for redevelopment central to the controversy.
Pakistan’s Evacuee Trust Property Board, which administers many properties associated with Hindu and Sikh communities, lists a functional Gurdwara Singh Sabha in Quetta and separately records a non-functional gurdwara near Archer Road. Publicly available board records do not conclusively establish whether the demolished building corresponds to either listed property.
The board’s statutory role is significant because it manages many properties left by Hindus and Sikhs who migrated at Partition and oversees listed temples and gurdwaras. Any finding that the Archer Road site fell under its control would sharpen questions about the approval process, the terms of any commercial arrangement and whether heritage or religious protections were observed before demolition.
Jasbir Singh has said the Archer Road gurdwara was established in the 1930s. After Partition, the premises were used for St Gabriel’s School, a Christian educational institution that operated there for decades. He said the school was moved after the building began to be demolished in June and that the Sikh community was not informed beforehand.
The controversy has a Christian dimension as well. St Gabriel’s School had occupied the premises for years before its relocation, linking the property to two minority communities. Civil-society representatives have said decisions affecting such sites require transparent consultation, particularly where religious history, education and commercial redevelopment overlap.
The dispute has drawn wider civil-society involvement in Quetta. Sikh, Christian and Hindu Valmiki representatives have joined local activists in calling for stronger protection of minority religious property and for scrutiny of transfers involving land with religious or heritage associations.
Balochistan Senator Danesh Kumar has also raised concerns about alleged encroachment and commercial pressure on minority-owned or minority-associated property in the province. Campaigners have sought a judicial inquiry to establish who authorised the demolition, whether any lease or transfer complied with the law and whether construction at the site should continue.
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Harjinder Singh Dhami has urged Pakistan’s authorities to stop commercial construction and return the property to the Sikh community. He said Sikh religious and historical sites in Pakistan formed part of the community’s heritage and should be preserved.
