HASAN ABDAL, PAKISTAN: Indian and Pakistani Sikh pilgrims gathered at the Gurdwara Panja Sahib, one of Sikhism’s most holy places, during Baisakhi — a spring harvest festival observed by Sikhs, on Tuesday.
Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi said last week that Islamabad issued over 2,800 visas to Sikh pilgrims from India to attend the annual Baisakhi festival this month.
Baisakhi, celebrated every year in mid-April, marks the founding of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699 and is one of the most important religious festivals for Sikhs. The Khalsa refers to the Sikh community formally initiated into the faith through a distinct religious code.
Thousands of devotees from around the world travel to Pakistan during this period to visit sacred sites, including Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hasan Abdal and Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.
“We prayed to our Guru, and it brought us a deep sense of peace,” Simran Singh, a 52-year-old Sikh pilgrim from India, told AFP. “The arrangements here are excellent.”
Paramjeet Singh, a 47-year-old Indian Sikh pilgrim, said people warned him that if he went to Pakistan, he would not be able to get a visa for any other country.
“But I gave them all the same answer: my Guru, Guru Nanak, has made Punjab like Canada and America for me, and I have no desire to move anywhere else,” he said.
“If God has given me life, he will guide me to visit all sacred places. My Guru is blessing me, and I am able to visit these places.”
Harliv Singh, 46, appreciated Pakistanis for their hospitality but said security issues meant the pilgrims could not leave the gurdwara.
“As a result, we have been staying here for the past two days,” he said. “We would like to explore the area, but we can’t.”
Pavitar Singh, 62, said the Sikh-Muslim brotherhood would grow stronger if people from the two countries could move freely across the border.
“We pray to Guru Baba Nanak that peace prevails between the two nations so that we can travel back and forth,” he said.
“Guru Nanak has blessed us, this is my first visit here, and I have long yearned to come.”
