ISLAMABAD: Prime Imran Khan has felicitated the Sikh community on the 552nd birth anniversary of the founder of Sikkhism Baba Guru Nanak being observed today.
In a tweet, the prime minister said Pakistan welcomes thousands of Sikhs to visit their religious sites in Pakistan. He reiterated that the government will continue to facilitating them in performing their religious rituals.
“Wishing 552nd Guru Nanak Dev Ji Jayanti to all Sikhs around the world. On this auspicious occasion, we welcome thousands of Sikhs to visit their religious sites in Pakistan. I reiterate my govt’s commitment to continue facilitating them to perform their religious rituals.,” he said.
Wishing 552nd Guru Nanak Dev Ji Jayanti to all Sikhs around the world. On this auspicious occasion, we welcome thousands of Sikhs to visit their religious sites in Pakistan. I reiterate my govt’s commitment to continue facilitating them to perform their religious rituals.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 19, 2021
Sikh pilgrims have arrived in Pakistan to visit one of their holiest shrines for the birth anniversary of the religion’s founder. Pakistan has opened the Kartarpur Corridor on the occasion to allow pilgrims to visit the temple. Dozens of Sikh men and women from India crossed into Pakistan on the first day of the reopening on Wednesday followed by thousands of others the next day.
Indian Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, along with his cabinet members, visited the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur through Kartarpur Corridor, on Thursday.
Channi, with a group of 30 people, visited Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur on the second day of the reopening of the route, which remained suspended for some 20 months following the COVID-19 outbreak.
Evacuee Trust Property Board spokesperson Amir Hashmi said that another delegation of Sikh Yatrees from India also visited the gurdwara.
The first batch of 28 Indian Sikhs, including women, visited the gurdwara on Wednesday through Kartarpur corridor on the first day of its reopening.
Kartarpur Corridor Project Management Unit Chief Executive Officer Muhammad Latif, Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee office-bearers and Gujranwala Commissioner greeted the Sikh Yatrees, who arrived here a day before the annual commemoration of the birthday of Baba Guru Nanak. Latif said that over 100 Indian pilgrims were expected to visit the historic gurdwara on Thursday.
Guru Nanak spent the last 18 years of his life at Kartarpur Sahib. His white-domed shrine is visible from across the border in India. Sikh pilgrims from India have a difficult time visiting it and have long been demanding a road link and easing of travel permits. India also opened the Wagah border crossing in Punjab for the week-long celebrations in Kartarpur.
