Guru Nanak’s birth celebrations

500 Sikh pilgrims reach Pakistan

By News Desk

LAHORE: A caravan of around 500 Indian Sikh pilgrims crossed over to Pakistan through the Wagah border Tuesday morning.

The Foreign Office said the pilgrims will inaugurate the celebrations in connection with Baba Guru Nanak's 500th birth anniversary from his birthplace in Nankana Sahib on August 1. A statement released by the ISPR later in the day said 476 pilgrims had reached Nankana Sahib, while the remaining 24 [pilgrims] will not be visiting.

The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi had issued visas to the Sikh pilgrims who are part of the jatha on July 26. These visas were granted "over and above" the thousands of visas that Pakistan issues every year under the framework of the Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines, 1974, the FO said.

It further said that the Pakistan government was taking a number of important initiatives including opening of the Kartarpur corridor to make the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak memorable and historic. The government also believes in the policy of promoting visits to religious shrines and people-to-people contacts between Pakistan and India, it added.