Pak High Commission issues 3,316 visas to Sikh pilgrims

New Delhi [India], Nov. 10 (ANI): The Pakistan High Commission on Thursday issued 3,316 visas to the Sikh pilgrims to attend celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak Dev from November 12 to 21 in the country. Last year, the Pakistan High Commission rejected the visa of 150 Sikh pilgrims visiting Pakistan to commemorate the martyrdom day of fifth Sikh Guru Arjan Dev. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee (SGPC) last year sent a delegation of nearly one thousand Sikh pilgrims to Pakistan to take part in the 546 birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder and first spiritual master of the Sikhs. Guru Nanak Dev was born at Rai Bhoi Ki Talvandi (present day Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan) near Lahore. He spent the last years of his life at Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, situated about three kilometers from the International Border that separates India and Pakistan. A Pakistan High commission official informed that the mission has issued 2850 pilgrimage visas to Sikh pilgrims to attend the event from November 20 to November 29 in Pakistan. Sikh devotees living in Pakistan also visit India to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple and other Sikh shrines in India. There are more than 172 Sikh shrines in Pakistan, but the Pakistan government grants visas to visit only six shrines. Over 5,000 Sikh devotees are expected to gather at Pakistan from across the world for this momentous occasion. (ANI)