Pakistan government late on Friday rejected reports that Nankana Sahib Gurdwara near Lahore was desecrated by a mob of Muslim residents.

Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, also known as the Gurdwara Janam Asthan, is the site where the first Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Nanak, was born. It is regarded as one of the holiest Sikh sites.

The country’s foreign office in a midnight statement said the provincial authorities in the Punjab province have informed that there was a scuffle in the city of Nankana Sahib on Friday between two Muslim groups.

The altercation happened on a minor incident at a tea-stall and the District Administration immediately intervened and arrested the accused.

“Attempts to paint this incident as a communal issue are patently motivated. Most importantly, the Gurdwara remains untouched and undamaged. All insinuations to the contrary, particularly the claims of acts of desecration and destruction’ and desecration of the holy place, are not only false but also mischievous,” said the FO.

It said the Government of Pakistan was committed to upholding law and order and providing security and protection to the people, especially the minorities.

The opening of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor is a manifestation of Pakistan’s special care extended to the minorities, in line with the vision of the Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, it said.

This comes as India condemned the alleged attack on the holy shrine and called upon the government of Pakistan to take immediate steps to ensure safety, security, and welfare of the members of the Sikh community.

The Ministry of External Affairs in a statement on Friday had called for strong action against the miscreants who had “indulged in desecration of the holy Gurdwara and attacked members of the minority Sikh community”.

The MEA said the reprehensible actions followed the forcible abduction and conversion of a Sikh girl who was kidnapped from her home in the city of Nankana Sahib in August last year.

Meanwhile, according to Pakistan media reports, Pakistan is unlikely to allow Sikhs to take out ‘Nagar Kirtan’ today claiming that there is tension still brewing in the area.

According to reports, hundreds of angry Muslims gathered outside the Nankana Sahib Gurdwara — the birthplace of Guru Nanak — and pelted stones at the shrine with devotees inside on Friday evening.

The mob was being reportedly led by the family of Mohammad Hassan, the boy who allegedly abducted and converted Sikh girl Jagjit Kaur, who is the daughter of the gurdwara’s granthi.

Video clips doing the rounds on the social media showed a family member of the boy saying that he will destroy the gurdwara to build a mosque.

Following the incident, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal had condemned the attack and appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan PM Imran Khan to intervene in the matter.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had also condemned the alleged attack on the gurdwara.

Meanwhile, protests have erupted across India over the incident with hundreds gathering outside the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi.

(With PTI inputs)