Around 3,000 Indian Sikh pilgrims are expected to visit Pakistan to participate in the Baisakhi festival starting on April 10, an official said on Monday.
The main ceremony will be held on April 14 at Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hasan Abdal, in the country’s Punjab province.
“As many as 3,000 Sikh yatris are arriving here from India in connection with Baisakhi festivities,” Evacuee Trust Property Board spokesperson Ghulam Mohyuddin told PTI.
Baisakhi is celebrated on the first day of the month of Vaisakh and also marks the beginning of the harvest season.
Every year, Gurdwara Panja Sahib is awash with colours as pilgrims cram the halls and the courtyards in their traditional yellow turbans.
The spokesperson said a high-level administrative meeting was held at the Punjab Home Department in Lahore under the auspices of the ETPB, Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, to review arrangements for the upcoming Baisakhi Mela and Khalsa Janamdin celebrations.
Provincial Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique and Provincial Minister and Pardhan of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Ramesh Singh Arora, attended the meeting. Additional Secretary Shrines, ETPB, Nasir Mushtaq, gave a detailed briefing on arrangements for the pilgrims.
“During the briefing, it was informed that Sikh pilgrims from India and across the world will participate in the Baisakhi celebrations. Under the bilateral agreement, 3,000 pilgrims from India will arrive in Pakistan on April 10,” the spokesperson said.
Pilgrims will visit various religious sites including Nankana Sahib, Farooqabad, Sheikhupura, Kartarpur, Eminabad, and Lahore.
