Islamabad: Indian Sikh yatrees (pilgrims) who were in Pakistan for the 549th birth anniversary of the Sikh faith’s founder, Baba Gurur Nanak Devji, and for the inaugural ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor in District Narowal have termed its opening a historic occasion which they will cherish.
Speaking to Gulf News here in Darbar Sahib Punjab Sahib in Hasan Abdal, Rawalpindi district — the place where Guru Nanak did his first 40-day meditation and held a falling rock with his hand — the Indian Sikh yatrees said it was a step they had been waiting for long time and that went to Prime Minister Imran Khan for taking the bold step and extending a hand of friendship to India.
According to Sikh yatree Kulbir Singh, who had visited Darbar Sahib (Kartarpur) for the first time, it was a must for all the Sikh Yatrees who had earlier visited Dera Baba Nanak Sahib, in Gurdaspur, India, to visit the Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, or else their pilgrimage would be considered incomplete.
“Earlier, we used to watch Darbar Sahib from Dera Baba Nanak Sahib just across the border using a telescope, but after the corridor is completed next year — that too on the eve of the 550th Birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak — we shall cross the border and cover the 3-4 kilometre distance on foot to pay respects to the final resting place of Baba Guru Nanak and return to our country,” he said.
Darbar Sahib Kartarpur is the final resting place of Baba Guru Nanak, after he spent the last 18 years of his life here. The place is considered a holy one for Sikhs across the world.
On November 28, Prime Minister Imran Khan had laid the foundation stone in Kartarpur for the corridor joining Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev in Pakistan, to Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur, India.
The Pakistan government has made provisions for Indian Sikhs to visit Darbar Sahib without having to undergo any visa formalities. Only a permit, that would be issued to them upon arrival, is required.
