About 3,000 Sikh pilgrims are allowed to visit Sikh shrines in Pakistan on four religious occasions as per the Nehru-Liaquat pact
Amid reports that many pilgrims have been denied Pakistan visa to attend celebrations of Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary at Nankana Sahib, Pakistan high commission at New Delhi on Sunday made it clear that it has issued visas to over 3,000 Sikh pilgrims.
A post shared by Pakistan high commission on X reads, “The Pakistan high commission in New Delhi has issued over 3,000 visas to Sikh pilgrims from India to participate in the birth anniversary celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji to be held in Pakistan from 14-23 November 2024”.
“Expressing his views on the occasion, charge d’Affaires, Saad Ahmad Warraich, extended his heartfelt felicitations and wished the pilgrims a fulfilling yatra”, the post further reads.
As per the Nehru-Liaquat pact, a bilateral agreement signed on April 8, 1950, to guarantee the rights of minorities in both the countries after the partition, about 3,000 Sikh pilgrims are allowed to visit Sikh shrines in Pakistan on four religious occasions—birth anniversary of Sikhism’s founder Guru Nanak, martyrdom day of fifth Sikh guru Guru Arjan Dev, foundation day of Khalsa Panth (Baisakhi) and death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
On Saturday, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said that nearly 65% of pilgrims whose names were sent by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) have been denied visas by Pakistan.
“The gurdwara body had sent passports of 2,244 pilgrims for visa to the Pakistan high commission at New Delhi. As many as 1,481 pilgrims were not granted visas,” he added.
“Earlier, SGPC got the visas as per its quota. However, this time visas were denied to such a large number of pilgrims. Governments of both countries should pay attention to this concern. The SGPC has raised the issue with both the governments,” he had added.
The Sikh jatha is slated to leave for Pakistan on November 14 via the Attari-Wagah border to take part in the celebrations on November 15 at the birthplace of the founder of Sikhism.
Like SGPC, other Sikh organisations also send passports of the aspiring pilgrims for visas.
Apart from Nankana Sahib, the Sikh jatha will also visit other major historic gurdwaras including Gurdwara Panja Sahib Hasan Abdal; Gurdwara Dehra Sahib, Lahore and Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur during 10-day pilgrimage.