Over 1000 Sikh pilgrims depart for Pakistan to celebrate Baisakhi

ANI

Amritsar, April 9

A Sikh Jatha comprising 1052 pilgrims under the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) left from Amritsar for Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Pakistan on Sunday to celebrate Baisakhi.

"We received visas for 1052 people. They will also visit Nankana Sahib, Kartarpur Sahib and other Gurdwaras in Pakistan," Partap Singh, Secretary of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee said.

While leaving for Pakistan, one of the devotees Avtar Singh said, “This was our long-time wish. We wanted to go to Pakistan and visit our Gurudawara and place of our Guru and take obeisance and have a glimpse (Darshan). We are going for the first time. We are very excited and very happy."  Meanwhile, another devotee said last year also they had applied for a visa on Guru Nanak Dev's birthday but at that time the visa wasn’t issued. “We are happy that now we have got a chance to visit Sikh shrines in Pakistan,” he said

One of the devotees requested the government that visas should not be refused to devotees wising to go to the Guru's place. “Appeal to the government that the process of granting visa should be made easy and visa on arrival facility should also be there," devotees said.

Every year, a large number of Sikh pilgrims from India visit Pakistan to observe 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.  

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