Uncertainty over Sikh jatha's visit to Pakistan to commemorate Sher-e-Punjab

Amidst ongoing tension between India and Pakistan, close to 325 applications of Sikh pilgrims have been received by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), seeking visa from the Union government to cross over to Pakistan to commemorate the death anniversary of Sher-e-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh on June 30.

However, uncertainty prevails over the visit of the pilgrims to cross over to the neighboring country. The movement through the Attari-Wagah route has been restricted with very bleak chances for the situation to get normal in near future.

Nonetheless, sources said the SGPC was looking forward to sending its jatha.

For visa processing, request has been submitted for around 324 aspirants who were inclined to visit Pakistan, confirmed Palwinder Singh, SGPC’s pilgrimage department in charge.

“We have sent the list of aspirants for Pakistan visit on Maharaja's death anniversary to the Punjab Government, with a copy each to the Union Home Ministry and Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi for approval, but the response is awaited,” he said, saying it solely depended on the Union Government’s discretion to grant permission.

In the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, the Union government had imposed restrictions on travel to Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah border and suspended all types of visas, including those under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES).

In response, Pakistan too had cancelled all visas issued to Indian nationals, but gave exemption to the Indian Sikhs for religious visits.

Other Sikh bodies, who send the jatha to Pakistan, too, were sceptical of the visit.

Jagjit Singh Bhullar, president of the Bhai Mardana Yadgari Kirtan Darbar Society in Ferozepur, said, “For Maharaja’s death anniversary, we have coordinated with the SGPC and other Sikh bodies, but uncertainty looms over whether the Union Government would allow Sikh jatha to have access to Pakistan. I am also in touch with the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) officials who organise pilgrimage in Pakistan. They had assured that there were no visa restrictions from their (Pakistan) side,” he said.

Just days ahead of the Pahalgam attack, 6,000 Indian pilgrims had returned from Pakistan after celebrating Baisakhi in April — the largest Sikh jatha to visit Pakistan since Partition, with nearly 7,000 visas being issued.

Meanwhile, the operations on the Kartarpur corridor, connecting the Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur with Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan, too have been suspended till further orders.