NEW DELHI: The Pakistan Excessive Fee in New Delhi on Wednesday acknowledged that it has issued over 2100 visas to Sikh pilgrims from India to take part within the Guru Nanak Jayanti, or Gurpurab, celebrations subsequent month. “The Pakistan Excessive Fee in New Delhi has issued over 2100 visas to Sikh pilgrims from India to take part within the Delivery Celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji, to be held in Pakistan from 04-13 November 2025,” the Pakistani Excessive Fee posted on X.
Each nations had final yr agreed by way of diplomatic channels to increase the validity of the Settlement on Sri Kartarpur Sahib Hall for an additional interval of 5 years.
The Settlement, signed on 24 October 2019 to facilitate the go to of pilgrims from India to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, Narowal, Pakistan by way of the Kartarpur Sahib Hall, was legitimate for a interval of 5 years.
In accordance with the Ministry of Exterior Affairs (MEA), the extension of the validity of this settlement ensured uninterrupted operation of the Hall to be used by the pilgrims from India to go to the holy Gurdwara in Pakistan.
India had additionally urged Pakistan to not levy any charge or fees on the pilgrims, contemplating the continued requests of pilgrims relating to the removing of USD 20 service cost levied by Pakistan per pilgrim per go to.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the Kartarpur Hall in November 2019 when the primary lot of 550 Indian pilgrims, led by late Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, visited the holy shrine throughout the border.
The shrine was closed to individuals coming from throughout India’s border after the partition in 1947. The gurdwara was opened to pilgrims after repairs and restoration in 1999, and Sikh jathas have been visiting the shrine usually ever since.
The providers of the Kartarpur Sahib Hall have been suspended earlier this yr in view of the safety situation following the heinous April 22 Pahalgam terror assaults.
Earlier this yr, the Pakistani authorities got here in for enormous criticism after floodwaters entered the sanctum of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib.
In the meantime, a number of reviews additionally indicated that Pakistan’s intelligence and safety equipment has plans to push anti-India narratives throughout the upcoming go to of Indian Sikh pilgrims, or “jathas” to the nation.
“Social media chatter factors to an inter-agency assembly held on August 2 at Lodge Gulberg in Lahore, attended by representatives from safety companies, the Evacuee Belief Property Board (ETPB), and the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC). Whereas the safety companies reportedly floated the concept of utilizing anti-India banners and slogans at Gurdwaras, each the ETPB and PSGPC strongly opposed the proposal,” a report in ‘Khalsa Vox’ talked about.
The report acknowledged that an ETPB Extra Secretary warned that politicising the pilgrimage would possibly immediate India to droop such visits indefinitely, a setback the financially-struggling boards can hardly afford.
It highlighted that social media posts declare the ETPB has already incurred losses of practically 70 million Pakistani rupees per thirty days because the closure of the Kartarpur Hall on Could 8, a blow additional compounded by the cancellation of two main annual Sikh pilgrimages.