Lahore:
Despite Pakistan’s invitation, India denied the authorization of Sikh pilgrims to go to Pakistan to attend the spiritual leader Sikh Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the 486th anniversary of death which will be commemorated on September 22 in Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur in the Narowal district.
Due to the closure of the Wagah / Attari border and the Kartarpur corridor, no pilgrim from India can attend the ceremonies. However, the faithful Sikhs of the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries arrive in Pakistan to participate.
After climbing tensions in April this year, India and Pakistan closed the Wagah / Attari border and expelled the citizens of the other. Later between May 6 and 10, the two countries embarked on a short but intense confrontation between them.
According to the spokesperson for the board of directors of the Evacuee Trust, Pakistan had clearly indicated when the border was closed that its doors had remained open to the 24-hour pilgrims, and they could visit each time.
He said Pakistan has once again extended an invitation to Indian Sikhs for Baba Guru Nanak’s birthday, but sources confirm that the Indian government has refused to issue the required non-objection certificates (NOC) for land trip.
Deeply expressing the regrets of the situation, the president of the Pakistan Committee Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak, Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora, said that the Sikhs from visiting their holy sites was a violation of fundamental religious rights.
He stressed that no community should be deprived of the freedom to carry out its religious rituals and announced that it would share more details with the media at a next press conference.
