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Visas issued to 215 Sikh pilgrims to visit holy sites: Pakistan high commission
India too issues visas to Pakistani nationals to visit shrines such as Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti’s dargah and Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya’s mausoleum
NEW DELHI: Pakistan has issued 215 visas to Sikh pilgrims from India to participate in an annual festival scheduled to be held on the eve of the martyrdom day of Guru Arjan Dev.
During their visit to Pakistan, the pilgrims are expected to visit a number of holy sites, including Gurdwara Panja Sahib, Gurdwara Nankana Sahib and Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib. They will also participate in the festival to be held during June 8-17.
“The issuance of visas is in line with the Government of Pakistan’s commitment to fully implement the Bilateral Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines of 1974. Every year, a large number of Indian yatrees visit Pakistan to observe various religious festivals [and] occasions,” the Pakistan high commission said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires Salman Sharif wished the pilgrims a “rewarding and fulfilling journey”. He said Pakistan remains “committed to preserving sacred religious places as well as providing necessary facilitation to the visiting pilgrims”.
Each year, a sizeable number of Sikh and Hindu pilgrims from India visit Pakistan to participate in religious festivals and occasions. A number of Indian Hindus are also issued visas by the Pakistani mission to visit families and friends in Pakistan.
India too issues visas to Pakistani nationals to visit several shrines, including the dargah of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer and the mausoleum of Sufi saint Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya in New Delhi.
Like exchanges and contacts in most spheres, visits by Indian and Pakistani pilgrims have been affected by the sharp downturn in bilateral relations over the past few years. The two sides opened the Kartarpur Corridor to allow Indian pilgrims visa-free access to the historic gurdwara built at the site in Pakistan’s Punjab province where Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, spent the final years of his life.
