ISLAMABAD: Sikh pilgrims from India and around the world are set to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Pakistan’s Punjab tomorrow (Monday) to celebrate the 555th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak, the first Guru of Sikhs.
Following their stay at Kartarpur, the pilgrims will visit Gurdwara Rohri Sahib in Eminabad on November 20, before concluding their journey in Lahore.
The Sikh pilgrims have lauded the warm hospitality and respect extended by Pakistanis. They expressed immense satisfaction with the arrangements made by the Evacuee Trust Property Board terming Pakistan as a peaceful nation.
Meanwhile, Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif visited Gurdwara Babe Di Ber Sahib on Sunday and greeted the Sikh pilgrims on the birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak, APP reported.
The minister said Sikh pilgrims have been provided a peaceful environment to perform their rituals across the country. He said all minorities in Pakistan enjoyed full freedom to perform their religious obligations.
Group leader of Sikh pilgrims from Canada Sardar Jasbir Singh Boparai said arrangements by the government of Pakistan and Punjab were excellent.
The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi has issued visas to over 3,000 Sikh pilgrims, allowing them to attend Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary celebrations at their religious sites in Pakistan.
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Pakistan and India last month agreed on a five-year extension of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor Agreement, ensuring continued access for Sikh pilgrims to the revered Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, where Baba Guru Nanak spent the last 18 years of his life.
Inaugurated on Nov 9, 2019, the corridor connects Dera Baba Nanak in India’s Punjab to the Gurdwara in Kartarpur, Pakistan. Under the agreement, the 5,000 pilgrims from India can visit the Gurdwara on a daily basis without a visa from dawn to dusk.
Under the Nehru-Liaquat Pact, a bilateral agreement from April 8, 1950, about 3,000 Sikh pilgrims are permitted to visit Sikh shrines in Pakistan on four major occasions, including Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary, Guru Arjan Dev’s martyrdom day, Baisakhi, and Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s death anniversary.
