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Kartarpur
Satnam Singh Chahal, the executive director of the North American Punjabi Association (NAPA), on Saturday appealed to the government of India to immediately reopen the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, enabling Sikh pilgrims from India to visit the Darbar Sahib Gurdwara in Kartarpur, Pakistan, one of the most sacred sites in Sikhism. Chahal said Pakistan continues to keep its side of the corridor open, allowing pilgrims from around the world to visit the holy shrine. In contrast, the closure on the Indian side has left millions of Sikhs in the country disheartened, spiritually disconnected, and deeply disappointed, Chahal said. "The Kartarpur Sahib Corridor is a historic milestone symbolising peace, interfaith harmony, and the spiritual rights of Sikhs," Chahal said. Its continued closure due to political or administrative reasons is not only unjustified but deeply hurtful to the sentiments of the Sikh community. The Indian government must rise above political considerations and prioritise
The Pakistani government has for the first time in 50 years issued over 6,700 visas to Indian Sikh pilgrims for the Baisakhi festival on April 14, an official said on Tuesday. "Under the Pakistan-India Religious Protocol Agreement 1974, up to 3,000 Sikh pilgrims are permitted to visit Pakistan for any religious festival. However, the government has issued 6,751 visas, granting 3,751 additional visas on the special request of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the Evacuee Trust Property Board," ETPB Additional Secretary Saifullah Khokhar told PTI. Sikh pilgrims from India will on April 10 arrive here via Wagah Border to mark the Sikh New Year and the founding of the Khalsa. Khokhar said this was the first time in more than 50 years that the Pakistan government had issued additional visas to Sikh pilgrims instead of the agreed ones between the two countries. "Under the auspices of the ETPB, the main ceremony of the Baisakhi festival will be held on April 14 at Gurdwara Janamasthan
A delegation of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) met the Charge d'Affaires of Pakistan to India, Saad Ahmad Warraich, in Delhi on Friday regarding visa-related issues for Sikh pilgrims. The delegation demanded that the entire list of Sikh pilgrims sent by the SGPC for visiting Gurdwaras in Pakistan be granted visas and that the Sikh Jatha be allowed to travel according to the approved 'Nanakshahi' calendar on the occasion of the martyrdom day of Sikh Guru Arjan Dev. The SGPC delegation included its Chief Secretary Kulwant Singh Mannan, member Rajinder Singh Mehta, Secretary Partap Singh, and Assistant Secretary Jaswinder Singh. According to an SGPC statement, Kulwant Singh Mannan and Bhai Rajinder Singh Mehta stated that, in the past, a large number of visas for Sikh pilgrims from the list sent by the SGPC to the Pakistan High Commission were denied. A meeting was held with Pakistan's officials in Delhi on Friday to discuss this matter. The delegation emphasized t
The Delhi government will send senior citizens of the city on free pilgrimage to Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan on January 5 next year, an official statement said on Friday. Kartarpur Sahib and Velankanni Church in Tamil Nadu have been added to the Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojna' after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's orders, it said. The first batch of pilgrims to Kartarpur Sahib will leave on January 5, 2022 in a deluxe bus from Delhi, and the first train for Velankanni Church will leave on January 7 next year, it said. Meanwhile, Delhi Revenue Minister Kailash Gahlot reviewed preparations for the pilgrimages under the scheme in a high-level meeting on Friday. "The Delhi government has decided to add two more routes in addition to the existing 13 yatra routes -- Delhi-Velankanni-Delhi and Delhi-Kartarpur Sahib-Delhi -- under its Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra scheme, the statement said. The devotees will travel in AC-III tier trains on the Delhi-Velankanni-Delhi route whereas for the ...