Pakistan Prepares to Welcome 4,000 Indian Sikh Pilgrims for Guru Nanak’s 557th Prakash Purab

Pakistan is preparing to welcome Sikh pilgrims for the 557th Prakash Purab of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Up to 4,000 pilgrims from India are expected to arrive from November 22. The main ceremony will be held at Nankana Sahib on November 24.

Punjab's Provincial Minister for Minorities Affairs Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora and Provincial Minister for Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Khawaja Salman Rafique co-chaired a meeting to review security and administrative arrangements for the celebrations.

The pilgrims are expected to be received at the Wagah–Attari border by the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC), formed in 1999. Before that, the Amritsar-based Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) looked after Sikh shrines in Pakistan after Partition.

The arrangements, however, will be judged by the pilgrims’ experience on the ground. In earlier visits, devotees faced delays and difficulties at the crossing, including a shortage of transport. The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) should address these problems in coordination with the authorities concerned.

Reports of female pilgrims going missing from recent jathas, and later reports that some had converted to Islam and married in Pakistan, also point to the need for stronger safeguards. Experts opined that the ETPB and the PSGPC must ensure the safety of pilgrims throughout their stay.

Notably, after Partition, many sacred sites were left on both sides of the border. Under a protocol signed in 1974, India and Pakistan allow pilgrims to visit designated shrines. Devottes demands that with both countries’ populations growing and these sites remaining deeply important, the framework and its access provisions deserve a fresh review.