Amid heightened tensions between the two countries, Pakistan has allowed a special ‘jatha’ of Indian Sikh pilgrims to Nankana Sahib for kick-starting celebrations of the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak. The ‘jatha’ of over 500 pilgrims crossed over to Pakistan for Nankana Sahib on Tuesday morning, the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi said.
These pilgrims are scheduled to begin celebrations of the 550th Birth Anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak from his birth place, Nankana Sahib, Pakistan on Thursday.
The visas to these pilgrims have been granted over and above thousands of visas issued every year under the framework of India-Pakistan Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines of 1974, the high commission said.
It said the Government of Pakistan was taking a number of important initiatives, including opening of the Kartarpur Saheb Corridor, to make the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak a memorable and historic occasion. Despite the current state of relationship, both India and Pakistan have committed themselves to operationalising the corridor in November to commemorate the birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak.
Senior officials of the two countries held the second round of their technical-level talks on the corridor earlier this month. Pakistan has assured India that it would not allow the corridor to be misused for anti-India propaganda and activities. Since the arrival of the Indian Sikhs was kept in a “low profile” neither the Evacuee Trust Property Board, which looks after holy places of minorities in the country, nor the Pakistan Gurdwara Parbhandhik Committee were taken on board by the Imran Khan government regarding their arrival.
The Pakistani media was also not invited to the venue to cover the arrival of the Sikh pilgrims from India.The Pakistan Foreign Office later in the day issued a statement confirming the arrival of 500 Indian Sikhs but did not tell whether they crossed over here via under construction Kartarpur corridor or Wagah border.