Lahore Model's Offensive Photoshoot at Katarpur Hurts Sikh Sentiments

New Delhi, India: Following an alleged photoshoot at the Kartarpur Gurdwara in Pakistan, a clothing brand came under criticism. According to the Express Tribune, a Lahore-based model can be seen posing for the camera bareheaded, breaching the sanctity of the place.

The fashion photo shoot at the Kartarpur shrine enraged Pakistan Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry and members of the Sikh community, according to Pakistan Observer.

For the photoshoot, Chaudhry criticised the designer and the model.

He remarked on Twitter, "The Designer and the Model must apologise to the Sikh Community #KartarPurSahib is a religious symbol and not a Film set."

The incident was also denounced by Manjinder Singh Sirsa, the President of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, who called it "desecration."

"Pakistan court issued arrest warrant of star who did dance video at Mosque; same must be done against this woman from Lahore as an example of treating all religion at par."

"Otherwise, any talk of respect for Sikhism is hollow," he remarked.

In another tweet, Sirsa commented: "Such behaviour and acts at the pious place of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji are totally unacceptable! Can she dare to do the same at her religious place in Pakistan? Imran Khan and the government of Pakistan should take immediate action to stop this trend of treating Sri Kartarpur Sahib as a picnic spot by Pakistani people."

Meanwhile, Mannat, a clothing brand, has published a statement clarifying the situation. According to the article, the Instagram page has subsequently deleted the offending pictures and issued a statement.

"The pictures posted on our accounts are NOT part of any shoot done by Mannat Clothing. These pictures were provided to us by a third-party (blogger) in which they were wearing our dress. Please note that Mannat has absolutely NO role in deciding how and where the pictures were taken," the statement read.

"However, we accept our mistake that we should not have posted this content and we apologise to every single person who was offended by this. All the holy places are very sacred to us."

"The pictures and posts have been removed from all our social media channels. Again, we apologise wholeheartedly for hurting public sentiment. Believe us when we say we had no such intention."

Pakistan Punjab Police, on the other hand, said in a statement that they are investigating all aspects of the incident and that those involved will face severe legal consequences.

As per the report, "Management of the concerned brand & model are being investigated. Worship places of all religions are equally respectable," read the statement.