ISLAMABAD: A 12-member delegation of British Sikh soldiers visited religious sites in Pakistan this week and met army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Tuesday, the military’s media wing, ISPR, said in a statement.

Much of Sikh heritage is located in Pakistan. 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.

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.

The Pakistani government in 2019 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.

“During their stay the British Sikh soldiers visited several religious sites in the country which included Darbar Hazrat Mian Mir, Haveli Naunihal Singh, Gurdwara Janamasthan Guru Ram Das, Samadi Ranjeet Singh, Gudwara Dera Sahib, Kartarpur Corridor, Nankana Sahib and Dera Panja Sahib,” ISPR said in a statement.

The Sikh delegation, headed by Major General Celia J Harvey Deputy Commander Field Army UK, met Gen Bajawa who told the visiting delegation Pakistan respected all religions and recognized “the need for promotion of religious tourism in the country.”

“Kartarpur corridor is the practical manifestation of Pakistan’s unwavering commitment toward religious freedom and harmony,” the ISPR statement read.

The delegation also visited Orakzai District in the country’s northwest and went to the Samana Fort, Lockhart Fort and Saragarhi Monument, where they laid a wreath to commemorate the 21 Sikh soldiers who laid their lives there in 1897 as part of a British expedition.