Chandigarh: The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has asked Pakistan to allow a group of around 500 Sikhs and Sindhis to visit the Golden Temple for the 557th birth anniversary of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev on Nov 24, in a first of its kind request.In an Aug 25 letter to chairman of Evacuee Trust Property Board, Lahore, (a copy of which is with TOI), SGPC secretary Balwinder Singh Kahlwan offered to manage all hospitality and logistics, including lodging, meals (langar), local transit and other necessary facilities.“This pilgrimage holds deep spiritual significance for the devotees who wish to pay their respects and seek the blessings of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji at the holiest shrine of the Sikh faith. Such exchanges also serve to strengthen the bonds of peace, mutual respect, and cultural understanding between the people of both countries,” the letter said. The SGPC has offered to provide any further information or documentation that may be required.While Indian jathas regularly travel to historical gurdwaras in Pakistan, reverse pilgrimages remain rare. In 2004, a jatha of 1,100 Sikhs and Sindhi community members from Pakistan had visited the Golden Temple to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the installation of the Adi Granth during Congress led UPA-I govt at the Centre with then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh paying his first visit to the Golden Temple after taking over as PM.The SGPC request comes as it facilitates a jatha of Sikh pilgrims from India to travel to Pakistan for the birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev at Guru’s birthplace Nankana Sahib. The SGPC has received more than 7,500 passports of the Sikh pilgrims and recently met Pakistan high commission chief officer Saad Ahmad Waraich in Delhi with a request to waive existing cap of nearly 1800 visas.Kahlwan said generally 3,000 visas are granted to Sikh jathas from India as per the bilateral agreement between the two countries, “we managed to get 6,500 for Khalsa Saajna Diwas in 2025.” “We are hopeful that we will get maximum visas possible for the jatha members this time as well,” Kahlwan said.Welcoming the SGPC letter, DSGMC former president and Shiromani Akali Dal Delhi unit president Paramjit Singh Sarna said, “I hope Pakistan will not create any obstacle in sending this group. Even if the number is reduced from to 200 or 100, it would still be a new and positive development, which could help improve relations and people-to-people links between the two sides.” He asked the Centre to allow the group to cross on foot through the Attari-Wagah border.Cross-border religious travel is governed by the 1974 Bilateral Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines, alongside the historic 2019 Kartarpur Corridor pact. Among the Pakistani sites open to Indian pilgrims are Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, Panja Sahib, Dera Sahib (Lahore), the Samadhi of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Katasraj Dham (Chakwal), Shadani Darbar and Mirpur Mathelo in Sindh. Indian sites designated for Pakistani pilgrims are Hazrat Moinuddin Chishti (Ajmer), Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and Hazrat Amir Khusro (Delhi), Hazrat Mujaddid Alf Sani (Sirhind) and Hazrat Khwaja Alauddin Ali Ahmed Sabir (Kalyar).
