Daily Times

Pakistan has issued 96 visas to a group of Indian Hindu pilgrims for their visit to the sacred Shree Katas Raj Temples in Chakwal district of Punjab, the country’s High Commission in New Delhi said on Monday.

The Hindu devotees will be visiting the prominent temples, also known as Qila Katas, from December 20 to 25 this year, it said in a press statement. Each year, a large number of Sikh and Hindu pilgrims from India visit Pakistan to observe various religious festivals and occasions. A large number of Indian Hindus are also issued visas by the Pakistan High Commission on a regular basis to visit their families and friends in the neighbouring country.

“The issuance of visas to Sikh and Hindu pilgrims is in line with the Government of Pakistan’s efforts for facilitating visits to religious shrines,” said the High Commission.

Pakistan’s Charge d’ Affaires in New Delhi, Aftab Hasan Khan, wished the Hindu pilgrims a spiritually rewarding pilgrimage, saying that Pakistan remains committed to preserving sacred religious sites and providing all possible assistance to visiting pilgrims of all faiths.

The visit of the Hindu pilgrims to Shree Katas Raj Temple is covered under the bilateral Protocol on the Visits to Religious Shrines 1974.

Earlier this month, Pakistan granted 136 visas to Indian Hindu devotees who visited the country to participate in the 313th birth anniversary celebrations of Shiv Avtari Satguru Sant Shadaram Sahib at the Shadani Darbar Hayat Pitafi in Sindh. The 300-year old temple is a sacred place for Hindu devotees from across the globe. The Shadani Darbar was founded in 1786 by Sant Shadaram Sahib, who was born in Lahore in 1708.