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The first contingent of Indian Sikh pilgrims crossed the Attari-Wagah border into Pakistan on Tuesday to participate in the celebrations of Parkash Purab (birth anniversary) of Guru Nanak Dev Ji at Gurdwara Janamsthan in Nankana Sahib. The main celebrations for the 556th birth anniversary of the founder of Sikhism fall on Wednesday, November 5. The departure of the pilgrims marks a crucial restoration of religious exchange, as the movement was temporarily restricted by the Indian government just weeks prior. Earlier, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had initially denied permission for the jatha, citing prevailing security concerns and heightened tensions between the two countries in the wake of “Operation Sindoor”, which involved limited cross-border military exchanges following the April Pahalgam terrorist attack. Following appeals from various Sikh religious organisations, including the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the Indian government reversed its stance, allowing the pilgrimage to proceed. This jatha is the first official delegation to cross the border since the period of military tension. Approximately 2,000 to 2,150 Indian citizens were granted visas by the Pakistan High Commission for the 10-day pilgrimage. The SGPC coordinated the travel, organising buses to transport nearly 1,800 pilgrims from Amritsar to the Attari crossing point. “The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi has issued over 2100 visas to Sikh pilgrims from India to participate in the Birth Celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji, to be held in Pakistan from 04-13 November 2025,” the high commission said in a post on X. Crucially, sources confirmed that the central government permitted only Indian citizens to be part of the official delegation this year, excluding Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) who have historically been allowed to join the annual pilgrimage. The pilgrims will travel under the framework of the 1974 bilateral protocol on visits to religious shrines, which facilitates limited religious tourism despite the often-strained political ties between India and Pakistan. The delegation is set to visit several historic gurdwaras in Pakistan, including Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hasan Abdal, before returning to India on November 13.
