Baisakhi celebrations: Pakistan High Commission has issued more than 2,000 visas to Sikh pilgrims from India to participate in Baisakhi celebrations. During their visit, the pilgrims would go to Dera Sahib, Panja Sahib, Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur Sahib. The visas are for celebrations from April 9 to 18.
“On the occasion of Baisakhi celebrations, the Pakistan high commission in New Delhi has issued 2,856 visas to Sikh pilgrims from India to participate in the annual festival scheduled to be held in Pakistan from April 9 to 18,” the Pakistan mission said in a release.
Under the provision of a bilateral protocol on visits to religious shrines, Sikh and Hindu pilgrims from India visit Pakistan every year. Pakistani pilgrims also visit India every year under the protocol.
The Indian Sikh pilgrims will reach Pakistan via the Wagah border on Sunday where they will be welcomed. After immigration and customs clearance, the pilgrims will be sent to Panja Sahib Hasan Abdal by a special train, news agency ANI reported citing The Express Tribune.
Pakistan’s Charge d’Affaires Salman Sharif wished pilgrims a “fulfilling journey”. He said Pakistan remains committed to preserving sacred religious places and providing necessary facilities to visiting pilgrims, the statement said.
The issuance of visas is covered under the framework of the ‘Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines of 1974’.Every year, a large number of Sikh pilgrims from India visit Pakistan to observe various religious festivals and occasions. The visas issued from New Delhi are in addition to the visas granted to Sikh pilgrims participating in these events from other countries.
As per the protocol, these devotees, who are given visitor visas, can only travel in groups and the number of these groups is fixed annually.
This protocol covers five Indian shrines including Ajmer’s Hazrat Moinuddin Chishti, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and Hazrat Amir Khusro in Delhi, Hazrat Mujaddid Alf Sani in Sirhind Sharif, Punjab and Hazrat Khwaja Alauddin Ali Ahmed Sabir in Kaliyar Sharif.
While the 15 shrines in Pakistan which come under the protocols are Gurudwara Shri Nankana Sahib and Gurudwara Shri Panja Sahib in Rawalpindi; Samadhi of Maharaj Ranjit Singh, Shrine of Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh, Gurudwara Shri Dera Sahib, Gurudwara Janam Asthan, Gurudwara Deewan Khana, Gurudwara Shaheed Ganj, Singhanian, Gurudwara Bhai Tara Singh, Gurudwara of Sixth Guru, Mozang, Birthplace of Shri Guru Ram Das, Gurudwara Cheveen Padshahi, Mozang and Shrine at Sree Katasraj in Lahore; Shadani Darbar in Sindh’s Hyat Pitafi as well as Sadhu Bela in Khanpur and Mirpur Mathelo (Sindh).
