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‘You are Hindu’: Pakistan denies entry to 14 from Sikh ‘jatha’ on Guru Nanak Jayanti
Pakistani officials reportedly told at least 14 Hindus from Delhi and Lucknow that they could not travel with the Sikh group.
Several Hindus were reportedly sent back to India after crossing over to Pakistan as part of the Sikh Jatha (group), which had gone to the country for the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikhism.
According to a report by news agency PTI, Pakistani officials told at least 14 Hindus from Delhi and Lucknow that they could not travel with the Sikh group as they weren't a part of the religion.
"Pakistani officials told us you are Hindu, you cannot go with a Sikh jatha," Amar Chand, a devotee who was sent back with six other family members, told PTI.
A 'jatha' (a group) of nearly 1,900 Sikh pilgrims crossed over to Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah border for the celebrations of 'Parkash Purb' of Guru Nanak Dev on Tuesday. Chand and his family were also part of that 'jatha', PTI reported.
The family claimed that they wanted to offer prayers at gurdwaras in Pakistan on the occasion of Parkash Purb of the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak.
According to the report, the family of seven, along with another seven people from Lucknow, were sent back, making the total 14.
"Those who have been denied entry by Pakistan authorities are Hindus by faith and basically Pakistanis, and staying in India for long. They are Indian passport holders. They had got clearance from Indian immigration authorities at the Attari-Wagah border check post. When they entered Pakistan, its authorities checked their documents and returned them to the BSF", said an official of the state intelligence wing posted at the border.
He added, "Other Hindu devotees who are part of the jatha faced no hassle in crossing over to Pakistan".
Palwinder Singh, in charge of the pilgrimage department of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), which sends the largest group of pilgrims, said, "Nearly 40 members of the SGPC group are Hindus and almost all entered Pakistan with other jatha members successfully. This is not the first time Hindu devotees who follow Guru Nanak go to Pakistan on pilgrimage every year. They are not barred from going to Pakistan due to their Hindu religion".
Apart from this, over 200 people who had applied for visas independently were turned back at the Indian side of the border because they did not have the required approval from the union home ministry.
What transpired after the devotees crossed over to Pakistan?
According to the report, the Hindu devotees crossed over to Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah land route with the Sikh ‘jatha’ and completed all the formalities there.
Amar Chand said they were asked to board a special bus for pilgrims.
"We spent ₹95,000 (of Pakistani currency) on bus tickets for all seven members," he told PTI, adding that five Pakistan officials later came and asked them and seven others from Lucknow to get down from the bus.
"The Pakistani officials told us you are Hindu, you cannot go with a Sikh jatha. Then they sent us back," Chand said, adding that the Indian officials asked the Pakistani officials why they had been sent back.
He also claimed that the money they spent on bus tickets was not returned.
Chand, who was earlier a Pakistani national but came to India in 1999 and got Indian citizenship in 2010. He currently resides in Delhi.
Meanwhile, the 'jatha', which is visiting Nankana Sahib in Pakistan from November 4 to November 13, will also visit Gurdwara Panja Sahib (Hasan Abdal), Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur (Narowal), Gurdwara Sacha Sauda, Farooqabad, Gurdwara Dehra Sahib, Lahore, and Gurdwara Rori Sahib, Gujranwala.
Earlier, the Centre had refused to send Sikh pilgrims to Pakistan on the occasion of 'Parkash Purb' of Guru Nanak Dev, citing the security scenario with the neighbouring nation in the aftermath of the tensions post Operation Sindoor.
However, the union government then allowed a Sikh 'jatha' to visit gurdwaras in Pakistan.
The Nehru-Liaquat Pact of 1950 allows Sikh pilgrims to visit Pakistan’s sacred shrines on four occasions: Baisakhi, Guru Arjan’s martyrdom day, Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s death anniversary and Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary.
