Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Saturday welcomed Sikh yatrees (pilgrims) from across the world to Pakistan on the occasion Of the 552nd birth anniversary celebrations of Sikhism founder Baba Guru Nanak.
“More than eight thousand Sikh Yatrees from all over the globe are arriving in Pak to celebrate the Birth Anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak, welcome to the land of Gurus, Sufis and Yugi’s #GuruNanak,” said Chaudhry on Twitter.
More than eight thousand Sikh Yatrees from all over the Globe are arriving in Pak to celebrate the Birth Anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak, welcome to the land of Gurus, Sufis and Yugi’s #GuruNanak https://t.co/ysKLvAjNSh
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) November 13, 2021
The birth celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak will continue from November 17 to 26.
Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi issued around 3,000 visas to Indian Sikh Yatrees to participate in the celebrations at the holy temple where the guru died.
During their stay in Pakistan, the Sikh yatrees would pay obeisance at different Gurdwaras, including Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib and Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan’s High Commission had announced on Friday.
Addressing a weekly press briefing in Islamabad, Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar said that the corridor was open from its side and India was also expected to allow the Sikh pilgrims desiring to attend the upcoming birth anniversary celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak on Wednesday.
Iftikhar said that the Kartarpur Corridor was a shining example of the government’s efforts to promote interfaith harmony and was reflective of the primacy Pakistan accords to religious minorities in the country.
Pakistan also commemorated the second anniversary of the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor-dubbed the ‘Corridor of Hope’ by the UN Secretary-General, he added.
The spokesperson also expressed grave concern over the systematic persecution of minorities in India, particularly Muslims under the Hindutva-driven ideology of the BJP-RSS combine.