Sikh community has urged Modi government of India to lift ban on Yatrees travelling to Pakistan to visit Darbar Sahab Baba Guru Nanak Dev JI at Kartarpur.
The vice president of Sikh Gurdwar Parbandhak Committee of Pakistran in a statement said thousands of Sikh Yatrees are desirous to to take part in week-long the 556th birth anniversary celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak in November.
He said Pakistan government has assured the Committee that doors are open for Indian Sikh Yatrees and Visas would be granted through High Commission in New Delhi.
The Indian government last week denied permission to Sikh Yatrees to cross into Pakistan for Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary citing security concerns.
Despite the strained ties, Pakistani officials say Sikh and other religious pilgrims from India are still welcome to visit shrines in Pakistan under existing arrangements. Many of Sikhism’s holiest sites ended up in Pakistan after the partition of British India in 1947.
But Pakistani officials said they were still making arrangements to facilitate Indian pilgrims at the Kartarpur shrine, which is located in eastern Punjab’s recently flood-hit Narowal district, about 4.5 kilometers from the border.
The shrine is considered the second-holiest site in Sikhism.
The Kartarpur Corridor, inaugurated in 2019, created a visa-free border crossing for Sikh pilgrims from India, allowing thousands to visit the shrine daily. The shrine and surrounding villages were inundated last month when heavy rains and water released from overflowing Indian dams caused flooding across Narowal, affecting more than 100,000 people.
At one point, water stood 20 feet (6 meters) deep inside the shrine.
Punjab’s Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif ordered the water to be drained and the site restored, and the shrine reopened for worship and visits within a week.
Pakistani official Ghulam Mohiuddin said arrangements for lodging and food were being finalized for Sikh pilgrims traveling from India and abroad. He said if New Delhi lifts its ban, a record number of Indian Sikhs could visit Kartarpur this year.
Singh said thousands of Sikhs from India had hoped to take part in November’s weeklong celebration marking 556 years since Guru Nanak’s birth. He said Pakistan’s government has assured the committee that “the doors of Pakistan are open for Indian Sikh pilgrims,” and that visas would be granted through Pakistan’s high commission in New Delhi.
Another Sikh leader, Gyani Harpreet Singh, questioned the Indian government’s decision on X, noting that if India and Pakistan can play cricket matches, Sikhs should also be allowed to visit Pakistan for religious observances.
He appealed to New Delhi “not to play with the emotions of Sikhs.”
