In the United States, cutting across party lines, a group of over 80 lawmakers has introduced a key resolution in the House of Representatives seeking for the first time documentation of hate crimes against Sikhs. They lauded the contributions of the Sikh-American community.

The resolution introduced by top Congressmen, including Joe Crowley and Howard Berman, yesterday condemned a slew of attacks against Sikhs and their religious institutions over the past year, including the August 5 gurdwara shooting at Oak Creek, Wisconsin, which killed six worshippers.

It came hours after the House passed a resolution introduced by Republican Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan condemning the Wisconsin gurdwara attack.

The new Congressional resolution gives fresh support to a
public call for the Department of Justice to begin collecting comprehensive data on hate crimes committed against Sikhs.

Pakistan has not responded to India's request for a visa-free travel to Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara in that country. The government had requested for a safe corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur, Punjab, to Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara in the Narowal district in Pakistan during a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the two countries on 27th of June, 2008. India had proposed to Pakistan in that meeting to allow a small team to visit that country to discuss the modalities for visa-free travel through a corridor. But there has been no response till date. Minister of State for External Affairs, Preneet Kaur, gave this information in the Lok Sabha today.