LAHORE:
Despite the invitation of Pakistan, India has denied permission to the Sij pilgrims to travel to Pakistan to attend the 486th anniversary of death of the spiritual leader Sikh Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji that will be commemorated on September 22 in Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur in the Narowal district.
Due to the closure of the Wagah/Attari border and the Kartarpur corridor, no pilgrim from India may attend ceremonies. However, the SIJ devotees of the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries are arriving in Pakistan to participate.
After the tensions escalation in April of this year, both India and Pakistan closed the Wagah/Attari border and the citizens of the other were expelled. Later, between May 6 and 10, the two countries dedicated themselves to a short but intense confrontation.
According to the spokesman of the Evacuee Trust Board, Pakistan had made clear at the time of the closing of the border that its doors remained open for the SIJ pilgrims throughout the day, and could visit every time they wanted.
He said that Pakistan has once again extended an invitation to the Indian SIJS for the anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak, but the sources confirm that the Indian government has refused to issue the non -objection certificates (NO) required for land trips.
Expressing a deep regret for the situation, the president of the Parbandhak Committee of Pakistan, Sikh Gurdwara, Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora, said that preventing the SIJs from visiting their sacred sites was a violation of fundamental religious rights.
He stressed that no community should be deprived of the freedom to make their religious rituals and announced that he would share more details with the media at an upcoming press conference.
