Islamabad: On New Year’s eve, a delegation of 200 Hindu pilgrims arrived from India and the UAE to begin the journey to their sacred sites in Pakistan.
At least 161 Hindu devotees reached via the Wagah border from New Delhi into Pakistan on Saturday. Pakistan Hindu Council (PHC) patron-in-chief Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani greeted the pilgrims with flowers at the border crossing.
The pilgrims will visit a century-old temple and resting place of Hindu guru Shri Param Hans Dayal Ji Maharaj, located in Teri village, Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
During the four-day visit from January 1-4, Hindu pilgrims will also visit Katas Raj Temple, Raja Ranjit Singh’s Samadhi, Gurdwara Panja Sahib Hassan Abdal, and historical and cultural sites including Minar-e-Pakistan, Shahi Qila and Badshahi Masjid in Lahore, officials said.
New Year begins with religious tourism
MNA Dr Ramesh Kumar said it was “an encouraging start of the new year” that Hindu devotees from India came to Pakistan to promote religious harmony.
From Lahore, the visitors took the special Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights to Peshawar.
Hindu devotees from other countries, including the UAE, also reached Peshawar where they will visit four places to perform their religious rites.
Meanwhile, a delegation of Muslims from Pakistan is set to visit the Ajmer Sharif Sufi shrine in India later this month.
Dr Ramesh said the government of Pakistan would offer full support to promote religious tourism in the country. The Hindu devotees expressed their gratitude to the Pakistan government for facilitating them and arranging special flights to Peshawar and hoped such interactions would help improve ties between the two countries.
Flights to facilitate pilgrims
Pakistan Hindu Council has collaborated with PIA to promote religious tourism in Pakistan to launch special flights from Karachi and Dubai to Peshawar to facilitate tourists.
PHC has also announced a four-day visit of Pakistani citizens, including parliamentarians to Ajmer Sharif, Delhi and Jaipur after January 20. “A series of flights will begin from both the countries every month to facilitate religious pilgrims,” Vankwani said.
Pakistani pilgrims will visit India on the PIA flights whereas Air India will bring Indian passengers to Pakistan, he added.
PIA chief Arshad Malik said that PIA would expand flight operations in line with the ambitions of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government to promote religious tourism in the country. PIA is also planning to extend the operations to Sikh and Buddhist places, Malik said.
