Sikh pilgrims leave for Nankana Sahib in Pak, to cross Wagah on Oct 31
NEW DELHI: A group of Sikh devotees from India, part of a religious procession, on Monday started off their spiritual journey from Delhi to Nankana Sahib in Pakistan, the birthplace of founder of Sikhism Guru Nanak Dev, the High Commission here said.
The ‘Nagar Kirtan’ (procession) is led by Sardar Paramjit Singh Sarna, the former president of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, and includes representatives from different sections of the Sikh community in India, the Pakistan High Commission said in a statement. The procession was sent off by several dignitaries, including Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday, it said. Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan Syed Haider Shah also attended the send-off ceremony.
The ‘Nagar Kirtan’ via Ludhiana and Amritsar would be crossing over to Pakistan on October 31 through the Wagah border. “Today, a religious procession (‘Nagar Kirtan’) of Sikh devotees from India started off their spiritual journey from New Delhi to the birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev, founder of the Sikh religion, in Nankana Sahib, a sacred city in Pakistan,” the statement said.
This ‘Nagar Kirtan’ is being welcomed by Pakistan as a special gesture this year on the occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, it added.
80 IMMIGRATION COUNTERS AT KARTARPUR Pakistan has set up 80 immigration counters at the Kartarpur Corridor to speed up the clearance process of the large number of pilgrims who are expected to visit the holy shrine.
Pakistan’s interior ministry has built three entry gates to facilitate the pilgrims from India, The Express Tribune reported.
During the meeting, the Union minister was briefed about the situation in Kashmir and operational preparedness on the Line of Control (LOC) where Cease Fire Violations (CFV) and cross border firing from Pakistan targeting civilian areas have jumped, a senior official with the defence ministry said.
“The Minister reviewed the situation along the LOC. Last week there were CFVS by Pakistan. The chiefs briefed the minister about the countermeasures,” the official said. On October 19, the Army said they hit four terror launch pads inside Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) with 155mm heavy artillery fire.
The meeting comes ahead of Singh’s trip to Uzbekistan later this week to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Heads of State meeting, an official said. “Mr Singh will travel to Uzbekistan on a three-day visit from November 1 to 3...” The two nations are likely to sign pacts on military medicine and education.