Islamabad: More than 2,000 Sikh pilgrims have arrived in Pakistan to celebrate the Sikh festival of Baisakhi at the shrines of Panja Sahib and Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, in Pakistan’s Punjab province on Thursday.
The festival of Baisakhi — also known as Vaisakhi — is one of the most important Sikh festivals, marking the birth of the Sikh faith. It also signifies the start of the Punjabi New Year and the beginning of the harvesting season.
Pakistan has issued visas to at least 2,280 Sikh pilgrims who have reached Gurdwara Panja Sahib via three special trains to participate in the Baisakhi festival, officials said. District Police Officer (DPO) Attock Rana Shoaib Mahmood said that an extra police force has been deployed to provide foolproof security to the visitors.
The Sikh pilgrims were welcomed by officials of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) which maintains minority religious places in Pakistan and provides facilities for pilgrims. Sardar Arvinder Singh, the leader of the group of Indian pilgrims, expressed gratitude to Pakistan for issuing visas in great numbers, enabling pilgrims to participate in the Baisakhi festival.
“We have come here with a lot of love for the people of Pakistan,” he said, adding that “this is the land of our gurus.”
The main festival ceremony is scheduled to be held at Gurdwara Panja Sahib (Hasanabdal) on April 14. After reaching Pakistan via the Wagah border, they will be offered meals and then move towards the main festival site in Hasanabdal by special buses and trains escorted by the Railways police, and other law enforcement agencies, officials said.
Hundreds of Sikhs from India visit Pakistan every year to commemorate their religious and cultural festivals in Pakistan, which is home to some of the most sacred Sikh sites. The Sikh pilgrims travel every year under the 1974 framework of the Pakistan-India protocol on visits to religious shrines.
