Lahore, April 9: About 2,500 Sikh pilgrims from India reached Lahore via the Wagah border to attend the annual Baisakhi festival starting on Sunday, Geo News reported.
As per the details, the Sikh pilgrims will participate in the main event at Gurdwara Panja Sahib on April 14. During the visit, the pilgrims will visit Dera Sahib, Panja Sahib, Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur Sahib.
“In the celebrations of the Sikh festival – Baisakhi– 2,470 pilgrims arrived here from India under the leadership of Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee's Sardar Amarjit Singh,” Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) spokesperson Amir Hashmi told a news agency.
The ETPB looks after the holy places of minorities in Pakistan. The Board's chairman Habibur Rehman Gilani and Pakistan Sikh Gurudwara Bandhak Committee Pradhan Sardar Ameer Singh received the pilgrims at the Wagah border.
The Sikh pilgrims came to Nankana Sahib under strict security where they would perform religious rituals at the birthplace of Baba Guru Nanak, Hashmi said.
ETPB Additional Secretary Rana Shahid welcomed the Sikh Pilgrims and said, “All arrangements related to clean drinking water, clean washrooms, trains, sitting arrangements and security have been made available for the Sikh Pilgrims,” Geo News wrote quoting a private news channel.
He said the pilgrims will also visit Farooqabad, Kartarpur, Rohri Sahib, Aminabad before their departure for India on April 18.
Gilani said that all the arrangements for the Sikh yatrees have been made in the best possible way and they will be provided with all other administrative arrangements along with security, medical and travel arrangements.
SGPC leader Amarjit Singh Bhalipur said that Sikh pilgrims expressed their happiness. He also stressed ease in visas for pilgrims of both sides. (Agencies)
