Pakistan has invited Indian Sikhs to attend the 551st birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev, an official said on Monday.
The three-day Guru Nanak Gurpurb celebrations will commence at Nankana Sahib on November 27.
Indian pilgrims will be offered a five-day visa to enter the country upon the proof of a mandatory Covid-19 negative test. In view of the pandemic, 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.
The Waqf Property Board and the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) have also sent invitations and itineraries to Sikh societies, including the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), for attending the festivities.
According to PSGPC head Satwant Singh, the schedule of their stay in Pakistan had to be revised in consideration of “closed borders and the rising coronavirus tally in India”.
According to the Pakistan-India bilateral agreement, 3,000 Indian Sikh pilgrims will be allowed entry into the country for the Gurpurb 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.
No stay or shopping in Lahore
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.
Indian pilgrims will be welcomed at the Wagah border on November 27, from where they will be taken to Nankana Sahib through a special bus service.
The pilgrims will have access to gurdwaras in Nankana Sahib and will also get to participate in the nagar kirtan. At the end of which, they will be shuttled back to Wagah on December 1, to head back to India.
Earlier this month, Pakistan had decided to reopen Kartarpur Corrider, but India is yet to take decision. Read here:
