Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday announced that his government would issue multiple and on-arrival visas to Sikhs pilgrims coming from India and other countries while saying that Kartarpur is the “Madina” and Nankana Sahib is the “Makkah” of the Sikh community.
“I assure that you will be issued multiple visas… This is our responsibility. We will facilitate you rather will give you visas at airport,” The News International quoted Khan as saying on Monday while addressing the International Sikh Convention at the Governor House in Lahore.
“(We) will give you multiple visas to facilitate your journey,” he added.
The convention was attended by Punjab Governor Chaudhry Sarwar, federal and provincial cabinet members, and Sikh pilgrims from the UK, the US, Canada, Europe and other countries.
The Prime Minister said after coming into power, his government realized the difficulties faced by foreigners to get Pakistani visas intending to visit the country for pilgrimage or tourism.
“Though our government has changed the visa regime, the mindset of creating hurdles will gradually diminish,” he added.
“Kartarpur is your Madina and Nankana Sahib is your Makkah. We (Muslims) can’t even imagine someone keeping us away from Makkah or Madina. This is a new visa regime so there may some obstacles initially, but we will facilitate you fully,” he further said.
Monday was the last day of the Convention which began on August 31 on the initiative of the Punjab Governor aimed at inviting suggestions regarding preparations for the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, at the gurdwara in Kartarpur Sahib in November.
Indian Sikh pilgrims along with thousand others from across the world will visit the gurdwara in Pakistan’s Punjab province, where Guru Nanak Dev spent his final days.
Pakistan has decided to complete the process of issuance of visas to Sikh pilgrims by September 30 to facilitate their participation at the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in Nankana Sahib on November 12. The visa process started on September 1.
New Delhi and Islamabad have agreed that Pakistan would allow 5,000 Sikh visitors per day into the country through the proposed Kartarpur Corridor.
The Kartarpur corridor will connect Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Kartarpur with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district in Punjab and facilitate visa-free movement of Indian Sikh pilgrims, who will have to just obtain a permit to visit Kartarpur Sahib, which was established in 1522 by Guru Nanak Dev.
Pakistan is building the corridor from the Indian border to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib while the other part from Dera Baba Nanak up to the border will be constructed by India.
Despite escalating tensions over Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani officials met on Friday to discuss the Kartarpur corridor project.
As India-Pakistan ties nosedived once again after Centre scrapped Article 370 of the Constitution, it was speculated that the work on the corridor might get hindered.
(With agency inputs)