After a group of 94 Sikh pilgrims from Haryana was not allowed to cross over to Pakistan, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Haryana has demanded a high-level inquiry, a public apology from the government and action against the officials responsible for the lapse.SAD has started submitting memorandums at the district headquarters across the state.The memorandums were submitted in Ambala, Kurukshetra and Yamunanagar today, and from Monday, the remaining districts will be covered.SAD Haryana chief Harkesh Singh Mohri said, “Every year, Sikh community members from across the country visit the religious places in Pakistan on important occasions, but for the first time, the pilgrims from Haryana were not allowed to cross over due a lapse on the part of the government. There was a delay in issuing notifications, but still, the process was completed by HSGMC, and the visas of 94 pilgrims were issued. A verified list of pilgrims from Haryana was not sent the concerned authorities, due to which the pilgrims were not allowed to cross over.”SAD Haryana chief extended support to HSGMC and said that some people have been criticising it over the issue, but the Haryana committee had completed its job in a time-bound manner.“We suspect that there was a conspiracy. Some dissenting members in HSGMC have been working for their vested interests and they had been spreading wrong information. The same members have been misguiding the government, and the government is hurting the sentiments of the community by supporting such elements. The government must clear its stand,” said Mohri, who was among the pilgrims stopped at the border.He further said that the government must ensure that all the formalities regarding the upcoming pilgrimages are completed in a timely manner so that the sentiments of the Sikh community members are not hurt again. If the Sikh community members are forced to return from the border again, the community will be forced to launch an agitation.SAD has demanded a high-level inquiry and action against officials responsible, fixing accountability, so that there is not lapse in future. The government should also apologise the pilgrims who were forced to return from the border, the SAD chief said.INLD spokesman Onkar Singh, who was present on the occasion, said “The lapse on the part of the government officials has led to this situation. They have hurt the sentiments of the community and appropriate action should be taken.”Meanwhile, HSGMC has formed a five-member committee to investigate and submit a report, while it has also sent letters to Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to express displeasure over the situation.HSGMC president Jagdish Singh Jhinda said, “The pilgrims from Haryana have faced humiliation. We have expressed our unhappiness and requested the government to ensure timely intimation of the entire process so that no such incident occurs again. We also demand a fixed pilgrim quota for Haryana.”