Pakistan issues visas to 3,000 Indian Sikh pilgrims

The Pakistan High Commission for India has issued 3,000 visas to Sikh pilgrims from the neighboring country on the 552nd birth anniversary of Guru Nanak this year.

The celebration in Pakistan will kick off on November 17 and are likely to last till November 27.

According to a press release issued by the commission, the pilgrims will stay at multiple gurudwaras including Gurd­wara Janam Asthan in Nan­kana Sahib and Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur.

Pakistan High Commission for India issues around 3000 visas to Indian Sikh Yatrees on the eve of the 552nd Birth Anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak. pic.twitter.com/Rm5L7HyGNP

— Pakistan High Commission India (@PakinIndia) November 12, 2021

Visas to Sikh pilgrims have been issued under the Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrine 1974. Sikhs across the world, too, will visit Pakistan to attend the event.

On November 9, Pakistan observed the second ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor — a visa-free border crossing connecting the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib to the border with India.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has always called the corridor his government’s “commitment to minority rights and interfaith harmony”.

In a tweet last earlier this week, he added: “Our commitment comes at a time when we are witnessing a descent into systematic persecution of Kashmiris, Indian Muslims, and other minorities by the ideological Hindutva BJP govt of India. This Indian govt’s mindset is the greatest hurdle towards peace in our region today.”

The Kartarpur Corridor was opened in 2019. The newly built Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib complex was a gift from Pakistanis to Sikhs.