200 Indian devotees to leave for Pakistan’s Katas Raj Temples on Dec 20

President of the body that organises the pilgrimage said the ministry of external affairs (MEA) has granted them permission to visit the temples in Chakwal district of Punjab province

A Hindu jatha of 200 devotees will leave from India via the Attari-Wagah border to visit ancient Katas Raj Temples in Pakistan on December 20 and return on 25.

As many as 200 Indian devotees are set to leave for Pakistan’s Katas Raj Temples on December 20. (HT File)

Following the permission from the union government, Shiv Pratap Bajaj, the national president of Kendriya Sanatan Dharam Sabha (Northern India) that organises the pilgrimage, made the announcement public at its corporate office in Yamunanagar this week.

Speaking to HT on Thursday, Bajaj said the ministry of external affairs (MEA) has granted them permission to visit the temples in Chakwal district of Punjab province.

“Katas Raj yatra takes place twice a year, once in February/March during Maha Shivratri and again in November/December. Due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown and political instability in Pakistan for the past two years, we have been unable to visit during late 2020 and early 2021. Now, we have submitted a list of 200 pilgrims who will go for the pilgrimage,” he added.

Post-partition, the pilgrims have been visiting Katas Raj for the yatra since 1982, under the 1974 Joint Protocol on Religious Pilgrimage between India and Pakistan.

“Earlier there were only 20 pilgrims allowed, which was later raised to 50, then to 100 and now 200 of them are allowed twice a year from the last 10 years,” Bajaj said.