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Pakistan invites Indian Sikhs for Guru Nanak’s 551st birth anniversary

Pakistan has invited Indian Sikhs to attend the 551st birth anniversary celebrations of Sikh faith’s founder, Guru Nanak Dev.

The three-day celebrations, known as Guru Nanak Gurpurab, will begin on November 27 at the Nankana Sahib.

Every year, a large number of Sikh pilgrims from India and different parts of the world gather at the Gurdwara Janamasthan Nankana Sahib, the birth place of Guru Nanak, in Pakistan’s Punjab province to mark his birth anniversary.

The coronavirus pandemic, however, is likely to affect festivities this year.

The Indian pilgrims will be offered a five-day visa to enter the country upon the proof of a mandatory COVID-19 negative test, The Express Tribune reported.

The Abandoned Waqf Property Board and the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) have also sent regular invitations and itineraries to various Sikh societies, including the Shiromani Committee of India, for attending the festivities.

In view of the coronavirus pandemic, the Sikhs from India will be allowed to stay in the country only for a limited period of time, with no extensions.

The special five-day Nankana Sahib Visa will effectively expire on December 2.

As per the Pakistan-India bilateral agreement, 3,000 Indian Sikh pilgrims will be allowed entry into the country for the Gurpurab celebrations.

However, this time around, visitors will only have the option of the Nankana Sahib Visa, unlike last year when they had the option of a 10-day visa to visit multiple gurdwaras in Lahore, Nankana Sahib, Hassan Abdal, Kartarpur, Rohri Sahib and Farooqbad.

For the first time, Sikh pilgrims visiting the country will also not have the option to stay or shop in Lahore and be required to exit the country upon conclusion of religious festivities.

India has said a decision to re-open the Kartarpur corridor would be taken in accordance with the protocols relating COVID-19 and easing of restrictions.

The corridor links Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur in India to Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan – the final resting place of Guru Nanak.

Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara is located in Pakistan’s Narowal district across the river Ravi, about four kilometres from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine.

In November last year, the two countries threw open the corridor linking Dera Baba Sahib in Gurdaspur in India and Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan, in a historic people-to-people initiative.

Source: Thanks WIONews.com