Pakistan issues visas to Indian Sikh pilgrims for Guru Nanak’s birth festivities
In accordance with the Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines of 1974, Pakistan has granted visas to close to 3,000 Indian pilgrims so they can attend festivities of Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary taking place in a number of its cities from November 6 to 15.
A sizable number of Sikh yatris, or pilgrims, go to Pakistan every year from India for religious festivals and special occasions. In addition to the visas awarded to Sikh pilgrims from other nations, the Pakistan high commission in New Delhi also issued 2,942 visas to citizens of India.
According to a statement from the Pakistani high commission, “the granting of pilgrimage visas to religious pilgrims by the high commission is in line with the government of Pakistan’s commitment to fully implement the bilateral Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines between the two nations.”
Aftab Hasan Khan, Pakistan’s charge d’affaires, congratulated the Indian pilgrims and “wished them a rewarding and fulfilling yatra.” He remarked, “Pakistan takes great satisfaction in maintaining holy religious sites and offering the required accommodations to the visiting pilgrims.
The Indian pilgrims will visit the gurdwaras in Dera Sahib, Panja Sahib, Nankana Sahib, and Kartarpur Sahib during their stay. On November 6, they will enter Pakistan, and on November 15, they will return to India.
Pakistan issues visas to Indian Sikh pilgrims for Guru Nanak’s birth festivities
The decline in bilateral relations over the past few years has had an impact on pilgrim visits from Pakistan and India, similar to exchanges and connections in most other areas.
In order to give Indian pilgrims access to a revered gurdwara established in Kartarpur in Pakistan’s Punjab state, where Guru Nanak spent his final years, the two sides opened the Kartarpur Corridor.
