Daily Times

Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi has issued around 3000 visas to Indian Sikh Yatrees to participate in the 552nd birth anniversary celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak in Pakistan from November 17 to November 26.

During their stay in Pakistan, the Sikh Yatrees would pay obeisance at different Gurdwaras including Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib and Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, said a news release received from New Delhi on Friday.

Visas to the Sikh pilgrims have been issued under the Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines of 1974, which provides for the visit of 3000 Sikh pilgrims from India for the birthday celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak. Thousands of Sikh pilgrims residing in countries other than India would also be visiting Pakistan to attend the event.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has taken several initiatives for facilitation of Sikh pilgrims including the historic opening of the visa-free Kartarpur Sahib Corridor in November 2019 on the occasion of the 550th Birth Anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak. The magnificent newly built Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib complex was a gift by the people of Pakistan and their leadership to the Sikh community from India and worldwide. Pakistan High Commission in India has also extended profound felicitations to the Sikh community in India and across the world on the 552nd Birth Anniversary of the founder of the Sikh religion. The High Commission wished a spiritually rewarding yatra to the pilgrims visiting Pakistan on this occasion. The issuance of maximum number of pilgrimage visas is in line with the government of Pakistan’s efforts for promoting visits to religious shrines in Pakistan, it said.

“We are ready to welcome Sikh pilgrims coming to Pakistan on the occasion of Guru Nanak’s 552nd birth anniversary,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said. “We have made wide-ranging arrangements to facilitate the Sikh pilgrims.” Earlier this week, Pakistan urged India to reopen the Kartarpur Corridor from its side and allow Sikh pilgrims to visit the holy site for the upcoming Guru Nanak Dev’s birthday celebrations.

The Kartarpur Corridor was inaugurated by Prime Minister Imran Khan on the eve of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev on November 9, 2019. But the coronavirus pandemic hit the region along with the world just months after the opening of the corridor. The movement of pilgrims to Pakistan through the corridor has been suspended since March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the neighbouring country banned all travel from India citing the surge in cases in April this year.

“India is yet to open the corridor from its side and allow pilgrims to visit Kartarpur Sahib,” the FO said. “We look forward to hosting devotees from India and around the world for the upcoming Guru Nanak Dev’s Birthday celebrations from 17-26 November,” it said.