CHANDIGARH: With more than 7,500 Sikh devotees having submitted their passports for the annual pilgrimage to Pakistan, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) urged the Pakistan High Commission to go beyond the prescribed quota and issue visas to the maximum possible number of pilgrims for Guru Nanak Dev’s birth anniversary celebrations at Nankana Sahib in November.
The delegation, led by SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami, included Delhi Shiromani Akali Dal president Paramjit Singh Sarna and former Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee president Manjit Singh GK. They met Pakistan High Commission Charge d’Affaires Ahmed Waraich in New Delhi and submitted a written representation seeking visas for all eligible pilgrims.
After the meeting, Dhami said the SGPC had received more than 7,500 passports from devotees seeking to travel to Pakistan for the celebrations marking Guru Nanak Dev’s birth anniversary.
“More than 7,500 Sikh pilgrims have submitted their passports to the SGPC office. The sharp rise in demand to visit Pakistan is due to the closure of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor and the non-availability of visas for privately organised Sikh groups for some time. Due to these reasons, the desire among devotees to visit the historic gurdwaras in Pakistan has increased,” he said.
Dhami said the number of applicants was “not merely a figure but an expression of the community’s deep devotion and emotional attachment to Guru Nanak Dev and the historic gurdwaras associated with him”. He added that the SGPC had sought a special dispensation from the Pakistan High Commission to accommodate the unusually large number of applicants by going beyond the normal quota.
He said the pilgrimage was being undertaken for religious reasons, to pay obeisance at historic gurdwaras and participate in celebrations associated with Guru Nanak Dev.
The delegation also discussed various issues related to Sikhs in Pakistan and matters concerning the Sikh community and its religious institutions.
Dhami also appealed to the Union Government to take up the visa issue with Pakistan and facilitate the travel of the maximum possible number of devotees. He reiterated the SGPC’s demand that the Kartarpur Sahib corridor be reopened immediately, saying the sentiments of the Sikh community should be kept in mind.
Pilgrims’ quota
More than 7,500 Sikh pilgrims submit passports
Nankana Sahib celebrations in November
Special dispensation sought for pilgrims
