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Pakistan grants 2,942 visas to Indian Sikh pilgrims for Nov 6-15 festive season
During their visit from November 6-15, the Indian pilgrims will travel to gurdwaras at Dera Sahib, Panja Sahib, Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur Sahib
Pakistan has issued visas to nearly 3,000 Indian pilgrims under the framework of the Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines of 1974 to participate in celebrations in several cities in the bordering nation on the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak from November 6-15.
Every year, a sizeable number of Sikh yatris or pilgrims from India visit Pakistan for religious festivals and on special occasions. The 2,942 visas issued to Indians by the Pakistan high commission in New Delhi are in addition to those granted to Sikh pilgrims from other countries.
“The issuance 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 countries,” the Pakistan high commission said in a statement.
Pakistan’s charge d’affaires Aftab Hasan Khan extended his felicitations to the Indian pilgrims and “wished them a rewarding and fulfilling yatra”. “Pakistan takes immense pride in preserving sacred religious places and providing necessary facilitation to the visiting pilgrims,” he said.
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During their visit, the Indian pilgrims will travel to gurdwaras at Dera Sahib, Panja Sahib, Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur Sahib. They will enter Pakistan on November 6 and return to India on November 15.
Like exchanges and contacts in most spheres, visits by Indian and Pakistani pilgrims have been affected by the downturn in bilateral relations over the past few years. The two sides opened the Kartarpur Corridor to allow Indian pilgrims visa-free access to a historic gurdwara built at Kartarpur in Pakistan’s Punjab province where Guru Nanak spent the final years of his life.
