Mehbooba tells India, Pak to allow Sharda Peeth pilgrimage

the ground breaking ceremony at Kartarpur, former J&K chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday asked India and Pakistan to facilitate Sharda Peeth pilgrimage located in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) .

The PDP and Kashmiri pandits have been demanding the opening of Sharda Peeth from past several years. Even during the PDPCongress coalition government, Srinagar-Muzuffarabad was thrown open and the pilgrims had been seeking opening of more meeting points along the LoC.

“Kartarpur is a great example of how religion can bring people together instead of dividing them. It is a path envisioned by PDP founder Mufti Sb to end the turmoil in Kashmir. #SelfRule,” tweeted Mehbooba.

She said that after Kartarpur, Delhi and Pakistan must facilitate Sharda Peeth pilgrimage for Kashmiris.

Sharda, which is located in the Neelam Valley in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) is about 150 kilometres from Muzaffarabad and situated at an altitude of around 6,500 feet.

Earlier, a similar demand was raised by Kashmiri pandits that they should be allowed to travel to PoK on a simple permit like cross LoC permit issued between two parts of Kashmir. In fact, the Kashmiri pandits have been demanding same facilities and documents which are required to travel between Srinagar and Muzuffarabad on the Cross LoC bus service which runs every week between Srinagar and Muzuffarabad and started in 2005. In J&K, it is still considered one of the biggest confidence building measure (CBM).