Pakistan Sikh Worship Places

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Pakistan urges India to reopen Kartarpur Corridor for Guru Nanak anniversary


Islamabad says it looks forward to welcoming thousands of Sikh pilgrims to enable them to visit their sacred site

News Desk
November 10, 2021

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has said that it looks forward to hosting Sikh devotees on the occasion of Baba Guru Nanak’s birthday celebrations from November 17-26, urging India to allow the pilgrims to make the much-anticipated travel.

In an official statement on Tuesday, Islamabad said it expects New Delhi in the spirit of cooperation would allow pilgrims to travel through the corridor to make it to the temple.

The corridor reopened on June 29 last year under Covid-19 protocols after its temporary closure due to the pandemic on March 16, 2020.

The communique stated that India – despite the resumption of international travel all over the world, the opening of religious places in the country and repeated calls by the Sikh community – is yet to do so.

It reminded the Modi-led government that the corridor was inaugurated by Prime Minister Imran Khan on the eve of the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak, saying that the magnificent, newly built Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur Complex is a gift by the people of Pakistan and the leadership to the Sikh community in India and worldwide.

It was described by the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres as 'Corridor of Hope' during his visit to Kartarpur Sahib in February 2020.

The statement further noted that in the last two years, the corridor has not just fulfilled the earnest desire of the Sikh community around the world for easy access to the revered site, but is also reflective of the primacy that Pakistan accords to all religious minorities in the country.

The corridor, it maintained, has opened new vistas for the promotion of inter-faith harmony.

A day earlier, it was reported that thousands of Sikh pilgrims await the reopening of the corridor and are worried about the fast-approaching birth anniversary of the founder of the Sikh faith.

Keeping up with its gesture to facilitate the Sikh pilgrims, Pakistan would allow around 3,000 devotees from across the world to participate in the birthday celebrations.

 

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Pakistan HC for India issues around 3000 visas to Indian Sikh Yatrees

Web Desk
November 12, 2021

Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi has issued around 3000 visas to Indian Sikh Yatrees to participate in the 552 nd birth anniversary celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak in Pakistan from 17-26 November 2021.

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.

Visas to the Sikh pilgrims have been issued under the Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines of 1974, which provides for the visit of 3000 Sikh pilgrims from India for the Birthday celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak. Thousands of Sikh Pilgrims residing in countries other than India would also be visiting Pakistan to attend the event.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has taken several initiatives for facilitation of Sikh pilgrims including the historic opening of the visa-free Kartarpur Sahib Corridor in November 2019 on the occasion of the 550th Birth Anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak. The magnificent newly built Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib complex was a gift by the people of Pakistan and their leadership to the Sikh community from India and worldwide.

 

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Pakistan makes arrangements for Sikh pilgrims on Guru Nanak's birth anniversary: FO

FO spokesperson says "we are ready to welcome Sikh pilgrims coming to Pakistan on Guru Nanak's 552nd birth anniversary"

November 12, 2021

Photo: AFP


Pakistan has made wide-ranging arrangements to facilitate the inward movement of Sikh pilgrims to celebrate Guru Nanak's birth anniversary, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, said Friday.

While speaking at a weekly briefing, Ahmad said that Pakistan opened the Kartarpur Corridor in June 2020, adding that he hopes the Indian government will allow Sikh citizens to take advantage of the transit route to Kartarpur.

"We are ready to welcome Sikh pilgrims coming to Pakistan on the occasion of Guru Nanak's 552nd birth anniversary," Ahmad said.

Pakistan issues 3,000 visas to Indian Sikh pilgrims

A statement issued by the Pakistan High Commission for India said that the commission has issued around 3,000 visas to Indian Sikh pilgrims to travel to Pakistan on the eve of the 552nd birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak.

The celebrations will take place from November 17 to November 26, 2021, read the statement.
During their stay in Pakistan, the Sikh pilgrims would pay obeisance at different gurdwaras, including Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib and Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur.

Visas to the Sikh pilgrims have been issued under the Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines of 1974, which provides for the visit of 3,000 Sikh pilgrims from India for the birthday celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak. Thousands of Sikh pilgrims residing in countries other than India would also be visiting Pakistan to attend the event.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has taken several initiatives for the facilitation of Sikh pilgrims, including the historic opening of the visa-free Kartarpur Sahib Corridor in November 2019 on the occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak.

The magnificent, newly built Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib complex was a gift by the people of Pakistan and their leadership to the Sikh community from India and worldwide.

Pakistan High Commission in India has also extended profound felicitations to the Sikh community in India and across the world on the 552nd Birth Anniversary of the founder of the Sikh religion. The High Commission also wishes a spiritually-rewarding yatra to the pilgrims visiting Pakistan on this occasion.

The issuance of the maximum number of pilgrimage visas is in line with the Government of Pakistan’s efforts for promoting visits to religious shrines in Pakistan.

 

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Gurdawara Darbar Sahib...

Location: Kartarpur, Pakistan

 

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In Punjab , Pakistan

 

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India allows reopening of Kartarpur Corridor from Wednesday

AFP
November 16, 2021

Workers clean the floor at the Shrine of Baba Guru Nanak Dev at the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, ahead of its opening in Kartarpur. — AFP/File


India gave the green light for thousands of Sikh pilgrims to cross the border into Pakistan from Wednesday ahead of the birth anniversary of the religion's founder Guru Nanak.

The Kartarpur Corridor, a visa-free crossing allowing Indian Sikhs to visit the temple in Pakistan where Guru Nanak passed away in 1539, first opened in 2019 for Nanak's 550th birth anniversary but was closed last year because of the pandemic.

India's Home Minister Amit Shah announced that the corridor will re-open from Wednesday ahead of Nanak's birth anniversary celebrations this Friday.

“In a major decision, that will benefit large numbers of Sikh pilgrims, PM @narendramodi govt has decided to re-open the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor from tomorrow,” he said on Twitter.

“I am sure that [the] govt's decision to reopen the Kartarpur Sahib corridor will further boost the joy and happiness across the country,” Shah added.


A Pakistani official source said the corridor had never been closed on the Pakistan side, and that they were waiting for confirmation from Indian authorities that the pilgrims would be allowed to cross.

The white-domed shrine in Kartarpur, a small town just four kilometres (2.5 miles) inside Pakistan, had remained out of reach of Indian Sikhs for decades because of hostile relations between the two countries.

There are an estimated 20,000 Sikhs left in Pakistan after millions fled to India following the Partition.

Guru Nanak, born in 1469 to a Hindu family near present-day Lahore, is revered both by Sikhs and Hindus who prepare community feasts known as langars to mark his birth anniversary.

 

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Indian Sikhs set deadline for govt to reopen Kartarpur Corridor

Sikhs form committee that announced to take issue on international level if Indian govt doesn't allow corridor reopening

By APP
November 14, 2021

Sikh pilgrims offer prayers on the occasion of the 481st death anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikhism, at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur near the India-Pakistan border on September 22, 2020. —: AFP

ISLAMABAD: The Sikh community in India has given the Indian government a deadline of November 19 to reopen the Kartarpur Corridor after Pakistan issued visas to 3,000 Sikh pilgrims allowing them to visit Kartarpur on Guru Nanak's birth anniversary.

“Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi has issued around 3000 visas to Indian Sikh pilgrims to participate in the 552nd birth anniversary celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak in Pakistan from 17-26 November 2021… Thousands of Sikh Pilgrims residing in countries other than India would also be visiting Pakistan to attend the event,” Pakistan High Commission in India announced Friday.

During their stay in Pakistan, the Sikh pilgrims would pay obeisance at different Gurdwaras including Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib and Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur.
However, the Sikhs in India have formed a Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor Sangarash Committee (SKSCSC) which had announced to take its movement for the cause on international platforms if the demand was not met by November 19.

The Indian media quoted SKSCSC member Surinderpal Singh Talibpur saying they had formed a 13-member committee to demand the reopening of the Kartarpur Corridor … so that followers could travel to Pakistan and return on the same day after paying obeisance at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib.

Another member of SKSCSC, Balwinder Singh Pakhoke, said they had offered prayers at the international border at Dera Baba Nanak for the reopening of the Kartarpur Corridor at the earliest.
“If the government doesn’t accept our demand, then we will spread our movement across the state to generate pressure on the government,” said Pakhoke.

Talibpur claimed that they had received immense response from the foreign Sikh bodies who had assured them of throwing their weight behind the SKSCSC’s movement.


“After November 19, we will hold a meeting and also have virtual discussions with our supporters abroad to chalk out further course of action,” he said.

On Friday, the Foreign Office spokesperson said that the Corridor was open from the Pakistan side and India was also expected to allow the Sikh pilgrims desiring to join the upcoming celebrations.

“We are all set to welcome thousands of devotees from India and around the world coming to Pakistan for the upcoming birth anniversary celebrations … for which elaborate arrangements have been put in place,” he said in his weekly press briefing.

Pakistan also commemorated the second anniversary of the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor-dubbed the ‘Corridor of Hope’ by the UN Secretary-General.


Inaugurated by Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2019, the Corridor is a shining example of Pakistan’s efforts to promote interfaith harmony and reflected the primacy Pakistan accorded to religious minorities in the country.

On the second anniversary of the Corridor, Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted, “Today is the second anniversary of the Kartarpur Corridor – a corridor of interfaith harmony that allows India’s Sikh community special access to one of their holiest sites.”
He said Kartarpur Corridor reflected his government’s commitment to minority rights and interfaith harmony.

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) President Bibi Jagir Kaur on Friday also wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to reopen the Kartarpur Corridor.
“The government has allowed political and religious gatherings and events with Covid 19 protocol in place; so it should also reopen the Kartarpur Corridor for pilgrimage as soon as possible,” said Kaur.

 

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Gurpurab Celebrations !
Live From Gurdwara Janam Asthan

 

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https://twitter.com/x/status/1461263767602409482

 

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Prominent Indian personalities arrive in Pakistan to visit Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib

The Indian Punjab CM and other politicians are part of the first delegation to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib since March 2020

By Web Desk
November 18, 2021

Sikh pilgrims are visiting Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur. Photo: file/AP


ISLAMABAD: Indian Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, along with his ministers and other politicians have arrived in Pakistan today (Thursday) via Kartarpur Corridor to take part in the annual commemoration of the birth of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.

The Indian CM and other politicians are the part of the first delegation to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur since March 2020. The pilgrimage to the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara was suspended last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The corridor, however, reopened on Wednesday.

The delegation will visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib to attend Gurpurab, which marks the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. Gurpurab will be celebrated on Friday (November 19).

The FO spokesperson had earlier said Indian Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Om Prakash Soni, along with Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu will also visit Pakistan.

Rajasthan Cabinet Minister Harish Chaudhry and eight members of the Indian Punjab Legislative Assembly will also be part of the delegation, the FO spokesperson's statement had said.

However, Sidhu's media adviser, Surinder Dalla, later said the Punjab Congress president will visit Kartarpur Corridor to pay obeisance on November 20, and not today.

Earlier, Channi had welcomed the Indian government's decision of reopening the Kartarpur Corridor and said the state cabinet will be part of the first "jatha” (group) which will visit the historic shrine in Pakistan on November 18, the Hindustan Times had reported.


Sikh pilgrims start arriving as Kartarpur Corridor reopens

Thousands of Sikh pilgrims crossed the border into Pakistan from India and the rest of the world Wednesday ahead of the 552nd birth anniversary of the religion's founder, Baba Guru Nanak.

The Kartarpur Corridor, a visa-free crossing allowing Indian Sikhs to visit the temple in Pakistan where Guru Nanak died in 1539, first opened in 2019 for Nanak's 550th birth anniversary but was closed last year because of the pandemic.

India's Home Minister Amit Shah announced that the Corridor will re-open from Wednesday ahead of Nanak's birth anniversary celebrations this Friday.


"In a major decision, that will benefit large numbers of Sikh pilgrims, PM @narendramodi govt has decided to re-open the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor from tomorrow," he said on Twitter.

"I am sure that (the) govt's decision to reopen the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor will further boost the joy and happiness across the country," Shah added.

A Pakistani official source said the Corridor had never been closed on the Pakistan side, and that they were waiting for confirmation from Indian authorities that the pilgrims would be allowed to cross.

The white-domed shrine in Kartarpur, a small town just four kilometres (2.5 miles) inside Pakistan, had remained out of reach of Indian Sikhs for decades because of hostile relations between the two countries.

When Pakistan was carved out of India at the end of British rule in 1947, Kartarpur ended up on the Pakistan side of the border, while most of the region's Sikhs remained on the other side.

There are an estimated 20,000 Sikhs left in Pakistan after millions fled to India following the religious violence ignited by Partition.
Guru Nanak, born in 1469 to a Hindu family near the present-day Pakistani city of Lahore, is revered both by Sikhs and Hindus who prepare community feasts known as langars to mark his birth anniversary.

 

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Punjab CM Channi at Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara

 

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Pakistanis welcome Indian Sikhs for founder Guru Nanak's birthday

AFP
19 Nov 2021

NANKANA SAHIB: The scent of flowers and perfume hangs in the air as thousands of Sikhs from India were welcomed to Pakistan on Friday for one of the world's biggest birthday celebrations: the 552nd birth anniversary of the Guru Nanak.

The festivities were taking place at the shrine to the founder of the Sikh religion in Nankana Sahib, the Pakistani city where he was born in 1469.

The emotion is heightened this year, as devotees from Pakistan's arch-rival India were unable to cross the border in 2020, due to coronavirus restrictions.

"I have goosebumps, I can't explain how I'm feeling," Darshan Singh, a 70-year-old farmer from India, tells AFP.

"I never thought we would get this sort of love from our Pakistani brothers," he says. "These women are not Sikh, these children know nothing about our faith, but they are standing up to welcome us with open arms and clean hearts."

Many others were similarly swept up in the rare sense of cross-border unity between Pakistanis and Indians, divided when the subcontinent was partitioned at independence in 1947.

Annie Munjal, a 24-year-old from Delhi, says her grandparents often told her stories of growing up in Pakistan's Lahore, near the Indian border, before partition.

"We had heard from them how Pakistan was, but we never got to see," she says. "Now we are here... they are just like us."

The celebration of more than 12,000 people at the shrine, or gurdwara, is infectious.

Curious Muslim residents of the city stand on their rooftops to watch, and shower the Sikh processions with rose petals and chocolates.

At the main gates, young Muslims and Hindus join Sikhs in dancing to the beat of the dhol, a South Asian drum.

Posters welcoming the pilgrims alternate with heavy security on the streets leading to the shrine.

The devotees, many of them barefoot, wave saffron flags as they sing hymns and recite poetry and religious texts -- all before a massive lunch of rice, naan, chickpeas and sweets.

'Long wait is over'

The first of ten gurus who developed the Sikh faith, Guru Nanak's teachings laid the basis for a community that now numbers up to 30 million across the world.

But most of the faithful are now in India, where their families fled the sectarian violence that claimed millions of lives during partition.

It was only in 2019 that Pakistan opened a visa-free corridor allowing Sikhs from India to visit Kartarpur, a town where another shrine built to mark the guru's death lies.

The Covid-19 pandemic prevented Indians from crossing in 2020. This year authorities agreed to reopen the corridor, and the faithful began streaming across in preparation for the birthday celebrations this week.

Some stayed in Kartarpur, while many made their way 180 kilometres (110 miles) southwest to join those celebrating in Nankana Sahib.

"My years long wait is finally over. I am steps away from my guru's home," Buljit Kaur, a 61-year-old pilgrim from India, tells AFP in Nankana Sahib.

Pervaiz Ahmed, a 41 year old local doctor was coming out of a mosque on the same street as the gurdwara.

"Sikhs find their roots here, this is the place they belong to. We have no objections seeing them coming in such big numbers," he said.

The Indian farmer, Darshan Singh, says he will return with his family.

"This is the first time I came to Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, and it looks like I have wasted 70 years of my life," he says.

"The emotions and feelings cannot be explained."

 

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In pictures: Celebrations as Pakistan welcomes Indian Sikhs for Guru Nanak's birthday
“I never thought we would get this sort of love from our Pakistani brothers,” says a 70-year-old farmer from India.
AFPUpdated about 6 hours ago
The scent of flowers and perfume hung in the air as thousands of Sikhs from India were welcomed to Pakistan on Friday for one of the world's biggest birthday celebrations: the 552nd birth anniversary of the Guru Nanak.
The festivities were taking place at the shrine to the founder of the Sikh religion in Nankana Sahib, the city where he was born in 1469.
The emotion is heightened this year, as devotees from India were unable to cross the border in 2020, due to coronavirus restrictions.
“I have goosebumps, I can't explain how I'm feeling,” Darshan Singh, a 70-year-old farmer from India, told AFP.
“I never thought we would get this sort of love from our Pakistani brothers,” he said. “These women are not Sikh, these children know nothing about our faith, but they are standing up to welcome us with open arms and clean hearts.”

Sikh pilgrims attend a ceremony to celebrate the birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak Dev in Nankana Sahib, Friday. — AP

Sikh boys in traditional dress attend a religious ceremony to celebrate the birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak Dev in Nankana Sahib. — AP

A Sikh woman performs rituals during a ceremony to celebrate the birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak Dev, at Nankana Sahib on Friday. — AP

Many others were similarly swept up in the rare sense of cross-border unity between Pakistanis and Indians.
Annie Munjal, a 24-year-old from Delhi, said her grandparents often told her stories of growing up in Lahore before Partition.
“We had heard from them how Pakistan was, but we never got to see,” she said. “Now we are here ... they are just like us.”
The celebration of more than 12,000 people at the gurdwara is infectious.
Curious Muslim residents of the city stand on their rooftops to watch, and shower the Sikh processions with rose petals and chocolates. At the main gates, young Muslims and Hindus join Sikhs in dancing to the beat of the dhol.

Sikh devotees distribute sweet drinks during a religious procession on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in Nankana Sahib on November 19. — AFP

Sikh pilgrims gather around a bus carrying the Guru Granth Sahib (Sikh holy book) during a religious procession in Nankana Sahib. — AFP


Posters welcoming the pilgrims alternate with heavy security on the streets leading to the shrine. The devotees, many of them barefoot, wave saffron flags as they sing hymns and recite poetry and religious texts — all before a massive lunch of rice, naan, chickpeas and sweets.

'Long wait is over'

The first of ten gurus who developed the Sikh faith, Guru Nanak's teachings laid the basis for a community that now numbers up to 30 million across the world. But most of the faithful are now in India, where their families fled the violence that claimed millions of lives during Partition.

It was only in 2019 that Pakistan opened the visa-free Kartapur Corridor, allowing Sikhs from India to visit Kartarpur, where another shrine built to mark the guru's death lies.

That white-domed gurdwara was so close to the border that for decades devotees in India could see it, but not visit.

Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri (C) attends a ceremony during a Sikh religious procession in Nankana Sahib on Friday. — AFP

A Granthi or ceremonial reader recites the Guru Granth Sahib during a religious ceremony on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in Nankana Sahib. — AFP

A Sikh pilgrim sits next to the holy sarovar, or sacred pool, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in Nankana Sahib on November 19. — AFP


The Covid-19 pandemic prevented Indians from crossing in 2020. This year authorities agreed to reopen the corridor, and the faithful began streaming across in preparation for the birthday celebrations this week.

Some stayed in Kartarpur, while many made their way 180 kilometres (110 miles) southwest to join those celebrating in Nankana Sahib.

“My years-long wait is finally over. I am steps away from my guru's home,” Buljit Kaur, a 61-year-old pilgrim from India, told AFP in Nankana Sahib.

Pervaiz Ahmed, a local doctor, was coming out of a mosque on the same street as the gurdwara. “Sikhs find their roots here, this is the place they belong to. We have no objections seeing them coming in such big numbers,” he said.

Sikh pilgrims gather around a bus (unseen) carrying the Guru Granth Sahib during a religious procession in Nankana Sahib on November 19. — AFP

Sikh pilgrims get sweets during a religious procession in Nankana Sahib on November 19. — AFP

Sikh pilgrims arrive to take part in a religious ritual on the eve of the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, at the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur on Nov 18. — AFP


The Indian farmer, Darshan Singh, said he would return with his family.

“This is the first time I came to Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, and it looks like I have wasted 70 years of my life,” he said. “The emotions and feelings cannot be explained.”