Pakistan issues over 3,000 visas to Sikh pilgrims for Baba Guru Nanak's birthday celebrations

The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi has issued over 3,000 visas to Sikh pilgrims from India, granting them access to Pakistan to participate in the upcoming birthday celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak.

The event, scheduled from Nov. 14-23, commemorates the birth of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, with gatherings at several prominent Gurdwaras across Pakistan.

Last month, Pakistan renewed its agreement with India concerning the Kartarpur Corridor, a unique, visa-free passage that allows Indian Sikhs to visit the final resting place of Guru Nanak in Kartarpur, Pakistan.

Inaugurated in November 2019 on the occasion of Baba Guru Nanak’s 550th birthday, the corridor is celebrated as a symbol of goodwill and rare cooperation between the two nations.

The corridor connects Dera Baba Nanak in India with Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, located in Pakistan’s Punjab province. Each year, the arrangement enables thousands of Sikh pilgrims to pay homage without the need for a formal visa, with the latest extension ensuring continued access through this route.

During their visit, pilgrims are expected to visit major religious sites, including Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, Gurdwara Panja Sahib, and Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib. Charge d’Affaires Saad Ahmad Warraich, expressing his best wishes, congratulated the pilgrims and conveyed hopes for a meaningful yatra (holy journey).

This gesture aligns with Pakistan’s commitment to implementing the Bilateral Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines, an agreement established in 1974 between Pakistan and India.

Many Sikhs see Pakistan as the place where their religion began. Its founder, Guru Nanak, was born in 1469 in a small village near the Pakistani city of Lahore.