New Delhi: Given the significance of Gurupurab and sentiments associated with the occasion, it has been decided that a Jatha of around 1500 pilgrims will visit Pakistan between November 17 and 26, 2021, via the Attar-Wagah Integrated Check Post (ICP).
"This visit is covered under the 1974 Bilateral Protocol between India and Pakistan on 'Visits to Religious Shrines'," MEA spokesman Arindam Bagchi told reporters here.
The pilgrims scheduled for a visit are Gurudwara Shri Darbar Sahib, Gurudwara Shri Panja Sahib, Gurudwara Shri Dehra Sahib, Gurudwara Shri Nankana Sahib, Gurudwara Shri Kartarpur Sahib and Gurudwara Shri Sachha Sauda.
"As you know, movement through the Kartarpur corridor was suspended in March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Land travel between India and Pakistan, is since being conducted on a limited scale through the Attari-Wagah Integrated Check Post in coordination with the Pakistani side," he said.
Either side follows its extant rules and health guidelines.
Pakistan had earlier denied permission to visit Sikh pilgrims from India to Pakistan twice in June this year – one, on the occasion of the Martyrdom Day of Guru Arjan Dev and second, on the Death Anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
"Both of these jathas are also covered under the 1974 Bilateral Protocol," the MEA spokesman said.
The Kartarpur corridor was opened on Nov 9, 2019.
The Gurupurab is an important festival for the Sikhs. The Guru Nanak Jayanti or Guru Nanak Dev Ji Gurupurab is the festival where Sikhs celebrate the birth of their first guru — Guru Nanak.
