ISLAMABAD: Sikh pilgrims have been attending 10-day celebrations of 552nd birth anniversary of Sikhism founder Baba Guru Nanak in Nankana Sahib in Pakistan’s Punjab province, Pakistani state-run media reported.
Thousands of Sikhs travel to Pakistan every year to participate in Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary celebrations. The main ceremony is held at Gurdwara Janamasthan in Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak.
This year, over 8,000 Sikh pilgrims were expected to arrive in Pakistan from all over the world to participate in the celebrations that began on Friday.
Senior government functionaries have been receiving pilgrims and overseeing arrangements to ensure a safe and pleasant stay of the guests in Pakistan.
On Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan Sikh devotees to their religious sites in Pakistan, wishing them the 552nd birth anniversary of the founder of Sikhism.
“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,” PM Khan said on Twitter.
“I reiterate my government’s commitment to continue facilitating them to perform their religious rituals.”
Sikh boys in traditional dress attend a religious ceremony to celebrate the birth anniversary of their spiritual leader Baba Guru Nanak Dev, at Nankana Sahib, near Lahore, Pakistan, on November 19, 2021. (AP)
Khan’s statement came a day after Indian politicians, including the Indian Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, visited Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur.
Much of the Sikh heritage is located in Pakistan. When Pakistan was carved out of India at the end of British rule in 1947, Kartarpur ended up on the Pakistani side of the border, while most of the region’s Sikhs remained on the other side.
Sikh pilgrims perform rituals during a ceremony to celebrate the birth anniversary of their spiritual leader Baba Guru Nanak Dev, at Nankana Sahib, near Lahore, Pakistan, on November 19, 2021. (AP)
Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur is of particular importance to the Sikh community as it was built in tribute to Guru Nanak, who established the town of Kartarpur in 1515. It is also his final resting place.
In 2019, the Pakistani government opened the Kartarpur corridor, connecting Gurdwara Darbar Sahib to the border with India and allowing Indian Sikhs to visit the site. The opening of the corridor marked the first time Indian Sikh pilgrims could enter Pakistan without a visa since 1947.
Sikh devotees distribute sweet drinks during a religious procession on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, in Nankana Sahib, Pakistan, on November 19, 2021. (AFP)
The corridor was closed in March 2020 following the coronavirus outbreak. While Pakistan says it had reopened the passage in June 2020, Indian authorities gave the green light for pilgrims to cross the border from Wednesday, a week after Islamabad urged New Delhi to reopen the corridor from its side and allow Sikhs to participate in Guru Nanak’s 552nd birth anniversary celebrations in Kartarpur.
