ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi said on Monday it had issued over 700 visas to Indian Sikh pilgrims to attend an annual festival marking the death anniversary of Guru Arjun Dev, the fifth Sikh guru, in Pakistan from June 10-19.
Pakistan is home to some of Sikhism’s holiest sites and has in recent years taken steps to improve access for Sikh pilgrims, particularly those from India.
The main events relating to death anniversary of Guru Arjan Dev Ji are centered at Gurdwara Dera Sahib in Lahore, with thousands of devotees, including hundreds of Indian Sikh pilgrims, crossing over the border to participate in the ceremony.
“The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi has issued 737 visas to pilgrims from India to participate in the annual festival scheduled on the eve of Martyrdom Day of Guru Arjun Dev Ji to be held in Pakistan from 10-19 June,” the high commission said on X.
Religious tourism has remained one of the few areas of sustained engagement between Pakistan and India, even as broader diplomatic relations have largely remained frozen.
In November 2019, Pakistan inaugurated the Kartarpur Corridor, allowing Indian Sikhs visa-free access to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, the final resting place of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh faith.
Islamabad has continued to issue visas to members of India’s Sikh community for religious pilgrimages despite heightened tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors since they fought an intense, four-day conflict involving the use of drone, missile and artillery strikes in May 2025.
