Pratap Singh, secretary of the apex Sikh religious body, said passports of 1,942 pilgrims were sent to the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi and they were granted visas.
Pakistan High Commission has issued over 6,500 visas to Indian pilgrims to participate in the annual Baisakhi festival to be held from April 10-19, it said on Monday.
Every year, a large number of pilgrims from India visit Pakistan to observe various religious festivals or occasions under the framework of the 1974 Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Shrines.
“On the occasion of Baisakhi celebrations, the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi has issued over 6,500 visas to pilgrims from India to participate in the annual festival to be held in Pakistan from April 10-19,” the Pak High Commission said in a statement.
The pilgrims will, among other things, visit Gurdwara Panja Sahib, Gurdwara Nankana Sahib and Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, it said.
Pakistan’s Charge d’Affaires in India Saad Ahmad Warraich said the large number of visas issued by the Pakistan government is a “manifestation of our policy to promote harmony and understanding among people, cultures and religions”.
The statement quoted him as saying that Pakistan will continue to facilitate such visits to holy and religious places. Earlier, the Amritsar-based Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Monday said 1,942 devotees have been granted visas to visit gurdwaras in Pakistan to participate in the annual Baisakhi festival to be held from April 10-19.
The SGPC said a batch of devotees will leave for Pakistan on Thursday. Pratap Singh, secretary of the apex religious body of Sikhs, said passports of 1,942 devotees were sent to the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi, who were granted visas.
